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The Ninth Marcel Grossmann Meeting

ATOM INTERFEROMETRY FOR PRECISION TESTS OF GRAVITY: MEASUREMENT OF G AND TEST OF NEWTONIAN LAW AT MICROMETRIC DISTANCES

Andréa D Bertoldi, L. Cacciapuoti, Marella de Angelis, Robert E. Drullinger, G. FERRARI, Giacomo Lamporesi, N. Poli, M. Prevedelli, Fiodor Sorrentino, Guglielmo Maria Tino

Published Sep 1, 2008• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We describe two experiments where atom interferometry is applied for precision measurements of gravitational effects. In the first, we measure the Newtonian gravitational constant G using an atom interferometry gravity-gradiometer which combines a rubidium fountain, a juggling scheme for fast launch of two atomic clouds, and Raman interferometry. We show that the sensor is able to detect the gravitational field produced by source masses and G is measured with better than 10-2 accuracy. In the second experiment, using ultra-cold strontium atoms in a vertical optical lattice and observing persistent Bloch oscillations for several seconds, we measure gravity acceleration with micromet-ric spatial resolution. We discuss the prospects for the study of gravitational forces at short distances and show that unexplored regions can be investigated in the search for deviations from Newtonian gravity.

DOI
10.1142/9789812834300_0449

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•May 1, 2010•2 citations
We describe two experiments where atom interferometry is applied for precision measurements of gravitational effects. In the first, we measure the Newtonian gravitational constant G using an atom interferometry gravity-gradiometer which combines a rubidium fountain, a juggling scheme for fast launch of two atomic clouds, and Raman interferometry. We show that the sensor is able to detect the gravitational field produced by source masses and G is measured with better than 10-2 accuracy. In the second experiment, using ultra-cold strontium atoms in a vertical optical lattice and observing persistent Bloch oscillations for several seconds, we measure gravity acceleration with micromet-ric spatial resolution. We discuss the prospects for the study of gravitational forces at short distances and show that unexplored regions can be investigated in the search for deviations from Newtonian gravity.
We here present a high sensitivity gravity-gradiometer based on atom interferometry. In our apparatus, two clouds of laser-cooled rubidium atoms are launched in fountain configuration and interrogated by a Raman interferometry sequence to probe the gradient of gravity field. We recently implemented a high-flux atomic source and a newly designed Raman lasers system in the instrument set-up. We discuss the applications towards a precise determination of the Newtonian gravitational constant G. The long-term stability of the instrument and the signal-to-noise ratio demonstrated here open interesting perspectives for pushing the measurement precision below the 100 ppm level.
In this article, we illustrate a series of experiments performed in our group in the field of atom interferometry for precision gravity measurements. We show that instruments measuring and testing gravity can be built both with rubidium and with strontium atoms, while keeping the sources of systematic error under control. The application of these devices in the test of the Weak Equivalence Principle with quantum objects, in the measurement of the Newtonian gravitational constant G and in the development of a new type atom interferometer for the detection of gravitational waves is discussed.
As part of a program to determine the gravitational constant G using multiple independent methods in the same laboratory, an atom gravity gradiometer is being developed. The gradiometer is designed with two magneto-optical traps to ensure both the fast simultaneous launch of two atomic clouds and an optimized configuration of source masses. Here, the design of the G measurement by atom interferometry is detailed, and the experimental setup of the atom gravity gradiometer is reported. A preliminary sensitivity of 3 × 10−9 g/Hz to differential gravity acceleration is obtained, which corresponds to 99 E/Hz (1 E = 10−9 s−2) for the gradiometer with a baseline of 0.3 m. This provides access to measuring G at the level of less than 200 parts per million in the first experimental stage.
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.
The ability to control the quantum degrees of freedom of atoms using laser light opened the way to precision measurements of fundamental physical quantities. I will describe experiments for precision tests of gravitational physics using new quantum devices based on ultracold atoms, namely, atom interferometers and optical clocks. I will report on the measurement of the gravitational constant G with a Rb Raman interferometer, on experiments based on Bloch oscillations of Sr atoms confined in an optical lattice for gravity measurements at small spatial scales, and on new tests of the Einstein equivalence principle. I will also discuss prospects to use atoms as new detectors for gravitational waves and for experiments in space.
A transportable atom interferometer-based gravity gradiometer has been developed at JPL to carry out measurements of Earth's gravity field at ever finer spatial resolutions, and to facilitate high-resolution monitoring of temporal variations in the gravity field from ground- and flight-based platforms. Existing satellite-based gravity missions such as CHAMP and GRACE measure the gravity field via precise monitoring of the motion of the satellites; i.e. the satellites themselves function as test masses. JPL's quantum gravity gradiometer employs a quantum phase measurement technique, similar to that employed in atomic clocks, made possible by recent advances in laser cooling and manipulation of atoms. This measurement technique is based on atomwave interferometry, and individual laser-cooled atoms are used as drag-free test masses. The quantum gravity gradiometer employs two identical atom interferometers as precision accelerometers to measure the difference in gravitational acceleration between two points (Figure 1). By using the same lasers for the manipulation of atoms in both interferometers, the accelerometers have a common reference frame and non-inertial accelerations are effectively rejected as common mode noise in the differential measurement of the gravity gradient. As a result, the dual atom interferometer-based gravity gradiometer allows gravity measurements on a moving platform, while achieving the same long-term stability of the best atomic clocks. In the laboratory-based prototype (Figure 2), the cesium atoms used in each atom interferometer are initially collected and cooled in two separate magneto-optic traps (MOTs). Each MOT, consisting of three orthogonal pairs of counter-propagating laser beams centered on a quadrupole magnetic field, collects up to 10(exp 9) atoms. These atoms are then launched vertically as in an atom fountain by switching off the magnetic field and introducing a slight frequency shift between pairs of lasers to create a moving rest frame for the trapped atoms. While still in this moving-frame molasses, the laser frequencies are further detuned from the atomic resonance (while maintaining this relative frequency shift) to cool the atom cloud's temperature to 2 K or below, corresponding to an rms velocity of less than 2 cm/s. After launch, the cold atoms undergo further state and velocity selection to prepare for atom interferometry. The atom interferometers are then realized using laser-induced stimulated Raman transitions to perform the necessary manipulations of each atom, and the resulting interferometer phase is measured using laser-induced fluorescence for state-normalized detection. More than 20 laser beams with independent controls of frequency, phase, and intensity are required for this measurement sequence. This instrument can facilitate the study of Earth's gravitational field from surface and air vehicles, as well as from space by allowing gravity mapping from a low-cost, single spacecraft mission. In addition, the operation of atom interferometer-based instruments in space offers greater sensitivity than is possible in terrestrial instruments due to the much longer interrogation times available in the microgravity environment. A space-based quantum gravity gradiometer has the potential to achieve sensitivities similar to the GRACE mission at long spatial wavelengths, and will also have resolution similar to GOCE for measurement at shorter length scales.