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Methods for very long baseline atom interferometry

Étienne Wodey

Published Jan 1, 2021• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

Gravity plays a central role in our understanding of the Earth and the Universe. It is the dominant force at astronomic scales, shaping star systems and galaxies. It is also a pivotal field in the geosciences, allowing access to the physical shape of the Earth, defining height systems, and tracking mass transport, for example water in climate change research, inside volcanoes, or along seismic faults. Finally, it could become a crucial resource for engineering, opening the way to a renewal of underground exploration techniques, both for natural resources and civil engineering legacy. In fundamental physics, gravity nevertheless remains a riddle. From its origins to the first direct detection of gravitational waves in 2015, the theory of general relativity has accumulated successes. Our understanding of the microscopic world, through quantum mechanics and the standard model of particle physics is a similar success story, culminating with the detection of the BEH boson in 2012. Nevertheless, unification theories remain inaccessible and testing both the hypotheses and predictions of our theories remains the safest way towards the discovery of new physics. Here, key research areas relate to tests of the universality of free fall, at the heart of general relativity theory, or the creation of macroscopic superposition states of massive particles, a genuine marker of the quantum world. Novel applications in the geosciences also require improved gravity sensors. For multiple applications in engineering and geodesy, the ideal device is easily transportable and has low energy consumption. Nevertheless, higher-order references are necessary to enable an accurate definition of a gravity standard across the world. Such gravity references could also be combined with state-of-the-art laser gyroscopes into quantum Earth observatories. In this manuscript, we introduce a new generation of matter wave sensors based on very long baseline atom interferometry (VLBAI). Exploring the properties of massive quantum objects at the scales of meters and seconds, they will provide new insights into fundamental physics questions and serve as testbeds for novel atomic inertial sensors on ground and in space. We provide the motivation and working principles for absolute gravity sensing with VLBAI, and discuss in particular the specific trade-offs arising from the use of an extended baseline in atom interferometry. We also present the core design of the Hannover VLBAI facility. Finally, we demonstrate that through a unique and carefully characterized 10 m-long magnetically shielded baseline, this devices offers the required environment for next-generation atomic gravity reference sensors and tests of fundamental physics.

DOI
10.15488/11356

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Gravity plays a central role in our understanding of the Earth and the Universe. It is the dominant force at astronomic scales, shaping star systems and galaxies. It is also a pivotal field in the geosciences, allowing access to the physical shape of the Earth, defining height systems, and tracking mass transport, for example water in climate change research, inside volcanoes, or along seismic faults. Finally, it could become a crucial resource for engineering, opening the way to a renewal of underground exploration techniques, both for natural resources and civil engineering legacy. In fundamental physics, gravity nevertheless remains a riddle. From its origins to the first direct detection of gravitational waves in 2015, the theory of general relativity has accumulated successes. Our understanding of the microscopic world, through quantum mechanics and the standard model of particle physics is a similar success story, culminating with the detection of the BEH boson in 2012. Nevertheless, unification theories remain inaccessible and testing both the hypotheses and predictions of our theories remains the safest way towards the discovery of new physics. Here, key research areas relate to tests of the universality of free fall, at the heart of general relativity theory, or the creation of macroscopic superposition states of massive particles, a genuine marker of the quantum world. Novel applications in the geosciences also require improved gravity sensors. For multiple applications in engineering and geodesy, the ideal device is easily transportable and has low energy consumption. Nevertheless, higher-order references are necessary to enable an accurate definition of a gravity standard across the world. Such gravity references could also be combined with state-of-the-art laser gyroscopes into quantum Earth observatories. In this manuscript, we introduce a new generation of matter wave sensors based on very long baseline atom interferometry (VLBAI). Exploring the properties of massive quantum objects at the scales of meters and seconds, they will provide new insights into fundamental physics questions and serve as testbeds for novel atomic inertial sensors on ground and in space. We provide the motivation and working principles for absolute gravity sensing with VLBAI, and discuss in particular the specific trade-offs arising from the use of an extended baseline in atom interferometry. We also present the core design of the Hannover VLBAI facility. Finally, we demonstrate that through a unique and carefully characterized 10 m-long magnetically shielded baseline, this devices offers the required environment for next-generation atomic gravity reference sensors and tests of fundamental physics.
Very Long Baseline Atom Interferometry (VLBAI) corresponds to ground-based atomic matter-wave interferometry on large scales in space and time, letting the atomic wave functions interfere after free evolution times of several seconds or wave packet separation at the scale of meters. As inertial sensors, e.g., accelerometers, these devices take advantage of the quadratic scaling of the leading order phase shift with the free evolution time to enhance their sensitivity, giving rise to compelling experiments. With shot noise-limited instabilities better than 10−910^{-9}10−9 m/s2^22 at 1 s at the horizon, VLBAI may compete with state-of-the-art superconducting gravimeters, while providing absolute instead of relative measurements. When operated with several atomic states, isotopes, or species simultaneously, tests of the universality of free fall at a level of parts in 101310^{13}1013 and beyond are in reach. Finally, the large spatial extent of the interferometer allows one to probe the limits of coherence at macroscopic scales as well as the interplay of quantum mechanics and gravity. We report on the status of the VLBAI facility, its key features, and future prospects in fundamental science.
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.
Gravity sensing is a valuable technique used for several applications, including fundamental physics, civil engineering, metrology, geology, and resource exploration. While classical gravimeters have proven useful, they face limitations, such as mechanical wear on the test masses, resulting in drift, and limited measurement speeds, hindering their use for long-term monitoring, as well as the need to average out microseismic vibrations, limiting their speed of data acquisition. Emerging sensors based on atom interferometry for gravity measurements could offer promising solutions to these limitations, and are currently advancing towards portable devices for real-world applications. This article provides a brief state-of-the-art review of portable atom interferometry-based quantum sensors and provides a perspective on routes towards improved sensors.
Matter-wave inertial sensing relies on the capability of manipulating the coherent wave nature of matter to build an interferometer and accurately measure a phase difference. Since the massive particle associated to the matter wave senses inertial effects, the interferometer represents an accurate inertial probe. Atom interferometers have benefited from the outstanding developments of laser-cooling techniques and reached accuracies comparable to those of inertial sensors based on optical interferometry. Thanks to their long term stability, they offer a breakthrough advance in accelerometry, gyroscopy and gravimetry, for applications to inertial guidance, geoid determinations, geophysics and metrology. They are also excellent candidates for laboratory-based tests of general relativity that could compete with the current tests using astronomical or macroscopic bodies. For example, they may provide new answers to the question of whether the free fall acceleration of a particle is universal, i.e. independent of its internal composition and quantum properties. We report here the first operation of an airborne quantum inertial sensor. We highlight their promising applications to inertial navigation and Earth observation. We also describe the improvement of the quantum sensor sensitivity in weightlessness, and discuss the possibility to conduct airborne or spaceborne tests of the Universality of Free Fall with quantum objects. We finally describe a matter-wave laser based interferometric gravitational antenna (MIGA). This infrastructure will allow for measuring with unprecedented resolution variations of the Earths gravity and of the strain of space-time allowing for enhancing the capabilities of existing and future gravitational wave detectors.
We report on recent developments concerning the commissioning of the Very Long Baseline Atom Interferometry test stand. Stretching over 15 m, the facility with its high-performance magnetic shield, Rb-Yb atom sources, and a low-frequency seismic attenuation system, will allow us to take on the competition with the stability of superconducting gravimeters with absolute measurements. By operating in a differential mode, we anticipate tests of the Universality of Free Fall at levels of parts in 10^(13) and below. We will furthermore report on matter wave sensors enhanced with opto-mechanical resonators as well as fully guided interferometry and discuss the potential of such systems in inertial sensing and fundamental physics. \n \nThis work is supported by CRC 1128 geo-Q, CRC 1227 DQ-mat, the German Space Agency (DLR) through the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) (Grant No. 50WM1641), the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) through Photonics Research Germany (Grant No. 13N14875), and QUANOMET.
The search for a fundamental, self-consistent theoretical framework to cover phenomena over all energy scales is possibly the most challenging quest of contemporary physics. Approaches to reconcile quantum mechanics and general relativity entail the modification of their foundations such as the equivalence principle. This corner stone of general relativity is suspected to be violated in various scenarios and is therefore under close scrutiny. Experiments based on the manipulation of cold atoms are excellently suited to challenge its different facets. Freely falling atoms constitute ideal test masses for tests of the universality of free fall in interferometric setups. Moreover, the superposition of internal energy eigenstates provides the notion of a clock, which allows to perform tests of the gravitational redshift. Furthermore, as atom interferometers constitute outstanding phasemeters, they hold the promise to detect gravitational waves, another integral aspect of general relativity. In recent years, atom interferometers have developed into versatile sensors with excellent accuracy and stability, and allow to probe physics at the interface of quantum mechanics and general relativity without classical analog. In this thesis, various aspects regarding tests of general relativity with atom interferometry have been theoretically investigated. This includes the analysis of fundamental effects as well as feasibility studies of experimental configurations. The work is partially focussed on a space-borne mission scenario for a dedicated quantum test of the universality of free fall beyond state-of-the-art by dropping matter waves of different elements. To enable the target accuracy at the level of 10^(−17), a compensation scheme has been developed and discussed, mitigating the detrimental effects of imperfect test mass co-location upon release and relaxing the requirements on the source preparation by several orders of magnitude. In addition, it was demonstrated that the careful design of quantum degenerate sources is indispensable for these experiments, requiring tailored schemes to prepare miscible binary sources. The possibility to test the gravitational redshift with atom interferometers has also been examined in this thesis and connected to the ideas of clock interferometry. With the proof that closed light pulse atom interferometers without transitions between internal internal states are not sensitive to gravitational time dilation, an ongoing scientific debate has been resolved. Instead, certain configurations were shown to implement a quantum version of the special-relativistic twin paradox, for which an experiment has been proposed. Finally, requirements on atomic sources and atom optics for scenarios of gravitational wave detection on ground and in space have been investigated.