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arXiv:2104.02835 · Quantum Science and Technology

Matter-wave Atomic Gradiometer Interferometric Sensor (MAGIS-100)

Mahiro Abe, P. Adamson, Marcel Borcean, D. Bortoletto, Kieran Bridges, Samuel P. Carman, Swapan Chattopadhyay, J. P. Coleman, Noah M Curfman, Kenneth DeRose, Tejas Deshpande, Savas Dimopoulos, Christopher J. Foot, J. Frisch, Benjamin E. Garber, Steve Geer, V. Gibson, Jonah Glick, Peter W. Graham, Steve R Hahn, Roni Harnik, Leonie Hawkins, Sam Hindley, Jason M. Hogan, Yijun Jiang, Mark A. Kasevich, Ronald J Kellett, Mandy Kiburg, Tim Kovachy, Joseph D Lykken, John March-Russell, Jeremiah Mitchell, Martin Murphy, Megan K. T. Nantel, Lucy E Nobrega, Robert K Plunkett, Surjeet Rajendran, Jan Rudolph, Natasha Sachdeva, M. Safdari, James K Santucci, Ariel Gustavo Schwartzman, Ian Shipsey, Hunter Swan, Linda R Valerio, Arvydas Vasonis, Yiping Wang, Thomas F. Wilkason

Published Apr 12, 2021• 233 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract MAGIS-100 is a next-generation quantum sensor under construction at Fermilab that aims to explore fundamental physics with atom interferometry over a 100 m baseline. This novel detector will search for ultralight dark matter, test quantum mechanics in new regimes, and serve as a technology pathfinder for future gravitational wave detectors in a previously unexplored frequency band. It combines techniques demonstrated in state-of-the-art 10-meter-scale atom interferometers with the latest technological advances of the world’s best atomic clocks. MAGIS-100 will provide a development platform for a future kilometer-scale detector that would be sufficiently sensitive to detect gravitational waves from known sources. Here we present the science case for the MAGIS concept, review the operating principles of the detector, describe the instrument design, and study the detector systematics.

DOI
10.1088/2058-9565/abf719

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Abstract MAGIS-100 is a next-generation quantum sensor under construction at Fermilab that aims to explore fundamental physics with atom interferometry over a 100 m baseline. This novel detector will search for ultralight dark matter, test quantum mechanics in new regimes, and serve as a technology pathfinder for future gravitational wave detectors in a previously unexplored frequency band. It combines techniques demonstrated in state-of-the-art 10-meter-scale atom interferometers with the latest technological advances of the world’s best atomic clocks. MAGIS-100 will provide a development platform for a future kilometer-scale detector that would be sufficiently sensitive to detect gravitational waves from known sources. Here we present the science case for the MAGIS concept, review the operating principles of the detector, describe the instrument design, and study the detector systematics.
Atom interferometers in which atoms are delocalized over macroscopic distances can provide excellent sensitivity for gravitational measurements. I will describe progress on the design and construction of a two-meter-tall strontium atomic fountain that aims to leverage such atom interferometers to search for new interactions beyond the standard model via tests of the gravitational inverse square law and to make a new measurement of Newton’s gravitational constant. Moreover, I will discuss progress on MAGIS-100, a 100-meter-tall atom interferometer being built at Fermilab to serve as a prototype gravitational wave detector in the 0.3 – 3 Hz range and to search for ultralight dark matter.
Abstract Gravitational waves and ultralight dark matter are among the most compelling frontiers in fundamental physics, motivating proposals for very-long-baseline atom interferometerssuch as AION 1 , MAGIS 2 , AICE 3 and AEDGE 4 that aim to detect at frequencies at which ground-based 5 and space-borne 6 laser interferometers lose sensitivity. Very-long-baseline atom interferometers look for signals by comparing the quantum phase evolution of widely separated atomic ensembles interrogated by a common laser. However, their performance depends critically on suppressing noise sources, particularly laser phase noise. The experimental validation of such noise rejection remains an important challenge. Here we demonstrate a prototype differential atom interferometer based on the single-photon clock transition of fermionic 87 Sr. Thus, we obtain a gradiometer configuration with a species intrinsically suited to kilometre-scale and space-baseline operation. The instrument operates at the standard quantum limit 7 with no excess noise beyond atom shot noise. The differential configuration maintains quantum-limited sensitivity in the presence of several radians of artificially injected laser phase noise per shot, which emulates the conditions expected in a very-long-baseline atom interferometer. We also demonstrate the recovery of coherent oscillatory signals across a broad frequency range under fully phase-randomized conditions, a capability that is inaccessible to a single interferometer operating in the same regime. These results provide an experimental validation of the noise-immune measurement principle underlying very-long-baseline atom interferometers and mark an important step towards next-generation quantum sensors for gravitational-wave detection and searches for ultralight dark matter 8,9 .
Gravitational waves and ultralight dark matter are among the most compelling frontiers in fundamental physics, motivating proposals for very-long-baseline atom interferometerssuch as AION1, MAGIS2, AICE3 and AEDGE4 that aim to detect at frequencies at which ground-based5 and space-borne6 laser interferometers lose sensitivity. Very-long-baseline atom interferometers look for signals by comparing the quantum phase evolution of widely separated atomic ensembles interrogated by a common laser. However, their performance depends critically on suppressing noise sources, particularly laser phase noise. The experimental validation of such noise rejection remains an important challenge. Here we demonstrate a prototype differential atom interferometer based on the single-photon clock transition of fermionic 87Sr. Thus, we obtain a gradiometer configuration with a species intrinsically suited to kilometre-scale and space-baseline operation. The instrument operates at the standard quantum limit7 with no excess noise beyond atom shot noise. The differential configuration maintains quantum-limited sensitivity in the presence of several radians of artificially injected laser phase noise per shot, which emulates the conditions expected in a very-long-baseline atom interferometer. We also demonstrate the recovery of coherent oscillatory signals across a broad frequency range under fully phase-randomized conditions, a capability that is inaccessible to a single interferometer operating in the same regime. These results provide an experimental validation of the noise-immune measurement principle underlying very-long-baseline atom interferometers and mark an important step towards next-generation quantum sensors for gravitational-wave detection and searches for ultralight dark matter8,9.
Atom interferometers (AIFs) are highly precise inertial sensors and are considered promising instruments for the detection of gravitational waves (GWs) and certain dark matter (DM) candidates in the mid-frequency band. While GW detection with AIFs was initially proposed for space-based experiments with baselines spanning thousands of kilometers, recent developments suggest that terrestrial setups with baselines of at least 100 meters may also be capable of detecting GWs. In this work, we analytically derive the GW phase response formula of a ground detector, find an additional term compared to the existing literature and check it our findings numerically. Based on this treatment, we analyze the optimal geometric parameters for earth-bound AIF experiments. Subsequently, we numerically simulate GW detection schemes for these optimized interferometers using an open-source Python algorithm. Numerical simulations of these schemes have are not available to the community, yet crucial for the accurate modeling of noise and non-trivial gravitational backgrounds.
MAGIS-100 is a 100-meter atom interferometer currently being built at Fermilab and will be the worlds largest atom fountain. It will leverage modern atom optics techniques to search for dark matter, perform quantum atomic experiments, and detect gravitational waves at frequencies inaccessible to LIGO and LISA. Generation and precise control of meter-separated quantum atomic superpositions within the interferometer requires an agile laser system able to rapidly shift the optical frequency up to a rate of 100 GHz/s while maintaining a phase lock to our static frequency comb. To meet the power requirement of the experiment, the two interferometry lasers are coherently locked and must be robust to rapid frequency shifts. The interferometry laser's spatial mode is cleaned through fiber coupling and long free space propagation in vacuum with frequency noise introduced by the fiber suppressed by a PID lock. In addition to the scientific and technical hurdles in this experiment, there are complex laser safety issues. There are a total of twenty-four lasers and seven wavelengths ranging from 50mW to 100W, all within the same LCA.
Atom interferometry is a quantum sensor technology that uses ultra-cold atoms placed in entangled quantum states to detect minute changes in local fields arising from gravitational waves and ultra-light dark matter. Their extreme sensitivity to accelerations has been demonstrated for measurements of Newton’s gravitation constant, tests of the Equivalence Principle, and measurement of local gravity gradients. The search for ultra-light dark matter and measurements of gravitational waves requires interferometer baselines greater than approximately 100 m. In understanding the fundamental systematics and backgrounds of these detectors, we have discovered that atmospheric and seismic effects, even though physically decoupled from the atoms which are in vacuum and free-fall, are still detectable by the quantum phase of the atoms. From a different perspective these “noise” sources are also interesting signals that we may be able to understand better with these sensor platforms leading to cross-disciplinary studies in Earth sciences.