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Physical Review A

Quantum tiltmeter with atom interferometry

Wenjie Xu, Min-Kang Zhou, Miaomiao Zhao, Ke Zhang, Zhong-Kun Hu

Published Dec 5, 2017• 24 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Matter-wave sensors with cold atoms have progressed tremendously over recent decades. We report a sensitive tilt sensor based on quantum technology employing cold atoms. This quantum tiltmeter is constructed with the configuration of a Ramsey-Bordé atom interferometer, achieving an improvement of nearly three orders of magnitude for tilt measurements with a short-term sensitivity of 1.3μrad/Hz1/2, with resolution down to 55nrad at an integration time of 1000 s. The deformation of the Earth's surface has been monitored in a continuous run of 31 h, showing that a quantum tiltmeter can be applied to record tilt tides and can be an valuable sensor in geophysics and various scientific facilities.Received 14 June 2017DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.96.063606©2017 American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasAtom interferometryMetrologyAtomic, Molecular & OpticalGeneral PhysicsGravitation, Cosmology & Astrophysics

DOI
10.1103/physreva.96.063606

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Physical Review A•Oct 9, 2017•1 citation
Matter-wave sensors with cold atoms have progressed tremendously over recent decades. We report a sensitive tilt sensor based on quantum technology employing cold atoms. This quantum tiltmeter is constructed with the configuration of a Ramsey-Bordé atom interferometer, achieving an improvement of nearly three orders of magnitude for tilt measurements with a short-term sensitivity of 1.3μrad/Hz1/2, with resolution down to 55nrad at an integration time of 1000 s. The deformation of the Earth's surface has been monitored in a continuous run of 31 h, showing that a quantum tiltmeter can be applied to record tilt tides and can be an valuable sensor in geophysics and various scientific facilities.Received 14 June 2017DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.96.063606©2017 American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasAtom interferometryMetrologyAtomic, Molecular & OpticalGeneral PhysicsGravitation, Cosmology & Astrophysics
Precision tilt measurements are becoming more and more important in fundamental research and crustal deformation observations. A quantum tiltmeter based on atom interferometry could be among the most stable tiltmeters in theory but is currently constrained by the low resolution. Here, we demonstrate an extremely sensitive quantum tiltmeter with the configuration of a Mach-Zehnder-type atom interferometer for precisely measuring the crustal deformation. The scheme of two pairs of Raman beams sharing one retroreflection mirror effectively increases the scale factor, making this quantum tiltmeter achieve a sensitivity of 40nrad/Hz1/240\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\mathrm{nrad}/{\mathrm{Hz}}^{1/2}40nrad/Hz1/2 and a resolution of 1.8 nrad within an integration time of 640 s for tilt measurements, which represents an improvement on the sensitivity by a factor of 32 comparing to previous work. The Earth tilt tide lasting for 63 h has been observed with high signal-to-noise ratio by our quantum tiltmeter, which paves the way to study the crustal deformation with a quantum sensor.
Abstract Atom interferometry is one of the most promising technologies for high precision measurements. It has the potential to revolutionise many different sectors, such as navigation and positioning, resource exploration, geophysical studies, and fundamental physics. After decades of research in the field of cold atoms, the technology has reached a stage where commercialisation of cold atom interferometers has become possible. This article describes recent developments, challenges, and prospects for quantum sensors for inertial sensing based on cold atom interferometry techniques.
Ultracold atomic gases hold unique promise for space science by capitalizing on quantum advantages and extended freefall, afforded in a microgravity environment, to enable next-generation precision sensors. Atom interferometers are a class of quantum sensors which can use freely falling gases of atoms cooled to sub-photon-recoil temperatures to provide unprecedented sensitivities to accelerations, rotations, and gravitational forces, and are currently being developed for space-based applications in gravitational, earth, and planetary sciences, as well as to search for subtle forces that could signify physics beyond General Relativity and the Standard Model. NASA's Cold Atom Lab (CAL) operates onboard the International Space Station as a multi-user facility for studies of ultracold atoms and to mature quantum technologies, including atom interferometry, in persistent microgravity. In this paper, we report on path-finding experiments utilizing ultracold 87^{87}87Rb atoms in the CAL atom interferometer, which was enabled by an on-orbit upgrade of the CAL science module: A three-pulse Mach-Zehnder interferometer was studied to understand limitations from the influence of ISS vibrations. Additionally, Ramsey shear-wave interferometry was used to manifest interference patterns in a single run that were observable for over 150 ms free-expansion time. Finally, the CAL atom interferometer was used to remotely measure the photon recoil from the atom interferometer laser as a demonstration of the first quantum sensor using matter-wave interferometry in space.
The past three decades have shown dramatic progress in the ability to manipulate and coherently control the motion of atoms. This exquisite control offers the prospect of a new generation of inertial sensors with unprecedented sensitivity and accuracy, which will be important for both fundamental and applied science. In this article, we review some of our recent results regarding the application of atom interferometry to inertial measurements using compact, mobile sensors. This includes some of the first interferometer measurements with cold 39^{39}39K atoms, which is a major step toward achieving a transportable, dual-species interferometer with rubidium and potassium for equivalence principle tests. We also discuss future applications of this technology, such as remote sensing of geophysical effects, gravitational wave detection, and precise tests of the weak equivalence principle in Space.
The past three decades have shown dramatic progress in the ability to manipulate and coherently control the motion of atoms. This exquisite control offers the prospect of a new generation of inertial sensors with unprecedented sensitivity and accuracy, which will be important for both fundamental and applied science. In this article, we review some of our recent results regarding the application of atom interferometry to inertial measurements using compact, mobile sensors. This includes some of the first interferometer measurements with cold 39^{39}39K atoms, which is a major step toward achieving a transportable, dual-species interferometer with rubidium and potassium for equivalence principle tests. We also discuss future applications of this technology, such as remote sensing of geophysical effects, gravitational wave detection, and precise tests of the weak equivalence principle in Space.