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arXiv:2205.07063

Sensitive detection of local magnetic field changes with atomic interferometry by using superconducting Meissner effects

Y. Q. Chai, M. Zhang, L. F. Wei

Published May 14, 2022• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Sensitive detection of magnetic field is one of the open problem in metrology. Here, we propose an Mach-Zehnder atomic interferometry to sensitively detect the very weak local magnetic field, which is expelled by the superconductor (as the "testing magnet") due to the Meissner effect. The induced magnetic field gradient near the superconductor provides a centripetal acceleration of the atomic motion in the interferometry and thus can be detected by using the atomic interferences. Given gravity acceleration of the atoms have been measured at the accuracy of $10^{-12}$ g, the measured sensitivity of the expelled local field could reach $10^{-14}$ T.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2205.07063

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Sensitive detection of magnetic field is one of the open problem in metrology. Here, we propose an Mach-Zehnder atomic interferometry to sensitively detect the very weak local magnetic field, which is expelled by the superconductor (as the "testing magnet") due to the Meissner effect. The induced magnetic field gradient near the superconductor provides a centripetal acceleration of the atomic motion in the interferometry and thus can be detected by using the atomic interferences. Given gravity acceleration of the atoms have been measured at the accuracy of 10−1210^{-12}10−12 g, the measured sensitivity of the expelled local field could reach 10−1410^{-14}10−14 T.
An atom interferometer using a Bose--Einstein condensate of 87Rb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb atoms is utilized for the measurement of magnetic-field gradients. Composite optical pulses are used to construct a spatially symmetric Mach--Zehnder geometry. By using a biased interferometer we demonstrate the ability to measure small residual forces in our system and discriminate between magnetic and inertial effects. These are a residual ambient magnetic-field gradient of $15\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}2$ mG/cm and an inertial acceleration of $0.08\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.02$ m/s2{\mathrm{s}}^{2}s2. Our method has important applications in the calibration of precision measurement devices and the reduction of systematic errors.
We report on the realization and characterization of a magnetic microtrap for ultracold atoms near a straight superconducting Nb wire with circular cross section. The trapped atoms are used to probe the magnetic field outside the superconducting wire. The Meissner effect shortens the distance between the trap and the wire, reduces the radial magnetic-field gradients, and lowers the trap depth. Measurements of the trap position reveal a complete exclusion of the magnetic field from the superconducting wire for temperatures lower than 6 K. As the temperature is further increased, the magnetic field partially penetrates the superconducting wire; hence the microtrap position is shifted towards the position expected for a normal-conducting wire.
We discuss the possibility to enhance the sensitivity of optical interferometric devices by increasing their open area using an external field gradient that acts differently on the two arms of the interferometers. The use of a combined electric and magnetic field cancels nonlinear terms that dephase the interferometer. This is possible using well-defined (typically with $n\ensuremath{\sim}20$ Rydberg) states, a magnetic field of a few Tesla, and an electric field gradient of $\ensuremath{\sim}10\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\mathrm{V}/{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$. However, this allows for interaction times only on the order of tens of microseconds, leading to a reachable accuracy of only 1 or 2 orders of magnitude higher than standard light-pulse atom interferometers. Furthermore, the control of fields and states and three-dimensional (3D) trajectories puts severe limits to the reachable accuracy. This idea is therefore not suitable for precision measurement but might eventually be used for gravity or neutrality in antimatter studies.
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The magnetic field gradient has been measured with an atom interferometer using the magnetic sublevels of 87Rb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb atoms. The Doppler-insensitive measurement effectively eliminates the contribution from gravity and background vibration noise, and the differential measurement also can reject some systematic errors. A resolution of 300300300 pT/mm has been demonstrated with a 909090-s integration time and a spatial resolution of 1.41.41.4 mm. The gradiometer was then used to measure the magnetic field gradient in an ultrahigh-vacuum environment. The technique will also be very useful to subtract the systematic error arising from the magnetic field inhomogeneity in precision atom-interferometry experiments, such as gravity measurement.
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.