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Microgravity Science and Technology

A Dual-Species Atom Interferometer Payload for Operation on Sounding Rockets

Michael Elsen, Baptist Piest, Fabian Adam, Oliver Anton, Paweł Arciszewski, Wolfgang Bartosch, Dennis Becker, Kai Bleeke, Jonas Böhm, Sören Boles, Klaus Döringshoff, Priyanka Guggilam, Ortwin Hellmig, Isabell Imwalle, Simon Kanthak, Christian Kürbis, Matthias Albert Koch, Maike Diana Lachmann, Moritz Mihm, Hauke Müntinga, Ayush Mani Nepal, Tim Oberschulte, Peter Ohr, Alexandros Papakonstantinou, Arnau Prat, Christian Reichelt, Jan Sommer, Christian Spindeldreier, Marvin Warner, Thijs Wendrich, André Wenzlawski, Holger Blume, Claus Braxmaier, Daniel Lüdtke, Achim Peters, Ernst Maria Rasel, K. Sengstock, Andreas Wicht, Patrick Windpassinger, Jens Große

Published Sep 7, 2023• 11 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract We report on the design and the construction of a sounding rocket payload capable of performing atom interferometry with Bose-Einstein condensates of $$^{41}$$ 41 K and $$^{87}$$ 87 Rb. The apparatus is designed to be launched in two consecutive missions with a VSB-30 sounding rocket and is qualified to withstand the expected vibrational loads of 1.8 g root-mean-square in a frequency range between 20–2000 Hz and the expected static loads during ascent and re-entry of 25 g. We present a modular design of the scientific payload comprising a physics package, a laser system, an electronics system and a battery module. A dedicated on-board software provides a largely automated process of predefined experiments. To operate the payload safely in laboratory and flight mode, a thermal control system and ground support equipment has been implemented and will be presented. The payload presented here represents a cornerstone for future applications of matter wave interferometry with ultracold atoms on satellites.

DOI
10.1007/s12217-023-10068-7

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We report on the design and the construction of a sounding rocket payload capable of performing atom interferometry with Bose-Einstein condensates of $^{41}$K and $^{87}$Rb. The apparatus is designed to be launched in two consecutive missions with a VSB-30 sounding rocket and is qualified to withstand the expected vibrational loads of 1.8 g root-mean-square in a frequency range between 20 - 2000 Hz and the expected static loads during ascent and re-entry of 25 g. We present a modular design of the scientific payload comprising a physics package, a laser system, an electronics system and a battery module. A dedicated on-board software provides a largely automated process of predefined experiments. To operate the payload safely in laboratory and flight mode, a thermal control system and ground support equipment has been implemented and will be presented. The payload presented here represents a cornerstone for future applications of matter wave interferometry with ultracold atoms on satellites.

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The QUANTUS consortium started activities to perform atom interferometry on a sounding rocket in the year 2011. Three sounding rocket missions (MAIUS-1 to MAIUS-3) have been planned to demonstrate BoseEinstein condensation and atom interferometry with rubidium and potassium atoms. Two different payloads MAIUS-A and MAIUS-B have been designed qualified and integrated in the time frame from 2011 until 2020. The MAIUS-A scientific payload is capable of performing single species experiment with rubidium only and was used as a technology demonstrator in the MAIUS-1 mission. The MAIUS-1 mission was conducted in fall 2016. On the 23rd of January 2017 the payload MAIUS-A was launched on a VSB-30 sounding rocket. The payload created the first Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) and performed atom interferometry aboard a sounding rocket with rubidium 87 atoms [Becker 2018]. Its successor MAIUS-B will be able to perform simultaneous experiments with Bose-Einstein Condensates of Rubidium-87 and Potassium-41 atoms. In order to achieve this ambitious scientific goal the experiments use various sensitive instruments imposing strong requirements on the thermal and mechanical design of the scientific payload. This paper gives a summary of the MAIUS-A and MAIUS-B scientific payload design with a focus on the thermal control system. Furthermore, the design of the GSE and the water cooling umbilicals is presented. The paper closes with an outlook on future atom interferometry payloads on sounding rockets and beyond.

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Exploring quantum gases for space-borne interferometry

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Ultra-cold quantum gases in space promise to boost the sensitivity of matter-wave interferometers. Applications of the latter extend from fundamental physics over the use in navigation to interdisciplinary applications such as geodesy, e.g. satellite gravimetry [1, 2]. Exploiting quantum gases for high-precision interferometry places high demands on their control and manipulation. We take benefit of various microgravity platforms such as the Bremen drop tower [3], the Einstein elevator in Hannover [4], sounding rockets [5,6] and the international space station [7] to advance the necessary methods. The DLR-mission MAIUS-1 demonstrated Bose-Einstein condensation and performed first interferometry experiments [4]. NASA’s Cold Atom Laboratory continues this research in orbit on the ISS [7]. In addition, atom interferometry is pursued in highly dynamic environments such as parabolic flights [8]. Starting from a rubidium Bose-Einstein condensate, recently lowest expansion energies have been achieved by us in the Bremen drop tower as required for extending atom interferometry over several seconds [9]. Extending these methods to quantum mixtures not only opens up new physics in the absence of buoyancy, but also faces challenges regarding their use for interferometry. Interferometers based on two chemical elements have been proposed for quantum tests of the equivalence principle on the ISS as well as on satellites. Currently we prepare a sounding rocket mission to investigate the simultaneous generation and manipulation of potassium and rubidium condensates [10]. Together with CAL [7], these experiments will prepare the DLR-NASA multi-user facility BECCAL for research on quantum gas mixtures and interferometry [11] as well as enhance the readiness level of methods required for STE-QUEST [12], a proposal for a satellite mission currently studied in an modified version within ESA’s VOYAGE 2050 program [13].

International Conference on Space Optics (ICSO)•Jul 12, 2023•0 citations
Abstract We report on the design and the construction of a sounding rocket payload capable of performing atom interferometry with Bose-Einstein condensates of 41^{41}41 41 K and 87^{87}87 87 Rb. The apparatus is designed to be launched in two consecutive missions with a VSB-30 sounding rocket and is qualified to withstand the expected vibrational loads of 1.8 g root-mean-square in a frequency range between 20–2000 Hz and the expected static loads during ascent and re-entry of 25 g. We present a modular design of the scientific payload comprising a physics package, a laser system, an electronics system and a battery module. A dedicated on-board software provides a largely automated process of predefined experiments. To operate the payload safely in laboratory and flight mode, a thermal control system and ground support equipment has been implemented and will be presented. The payload presented here represents a cornerstone for future applications of matter wave interferometry with ultracold atoms on satellites.
We report on the design and the construction of a sounding rocket payload capable of performing atom interferometry with Bose-Einstein condensates of 41^{41}41K and 87^{87}87Rb. The apparatus is designed to be launched in two consecutive missions with a VSB-30 sounding rocket and is qualified to withstand the expected vibrational loads of 1.8 g root-mean-square in a frequency range between 20 - 2000 Hz and the expected static loads during ascent and re-entry of 25 g. We present a modular design of the scientific payload comprising a physics package, a laser system, an electronics system and a battery module. A dedicated on-board software provides a largely automated process of predefined experiments. To operate the payload safely in laboratory and flight mode, a thermal control system and ground support equipment has been implemented and will be presented. The payload presented here represents a cornerstone for future applications of matter wave interferometry with ultracold atoms on satellites.
In January 2017 a first sounding rocket mission housing experiments on matter-wave interferometry, MAIUS-1 (Materiewellen-Interferometrie unter Schwerelosigkeit Matter-Wave Interferometry under Microgravity), has been launched. Following this campaign, two sounding rocket missions, MAIUS-2 and MAIUS-3, are planned to perform sequential and simultaneous dual-species atom interferometry with Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) of Potassium-41 and Rubidium-87. The scientific payload of the MAIUS missions will be launched on-board a VSB-30 sounding rocket launched from Esrange in Sweden. The ights of these rockets allows for approximately 360 s of microgravity conditions. It therefore overs a microgravity environment for experiments on timescales not accessible in ground based experiments, such as in the drop tower. During ascent of the rocket, vibrational loads of up to 1.8 g RMS in the frequency range of 20- 2000 Hz and accelerations of up to 13 g can occur. Furthermore, static loads, caused by the re-entry and the landing, can be as high as 50 g. Both missions MAIUS-2 and MAIUS-3 y the same payload, called MAIUS-B. Consequently, the payload needs to be designed to withstand the aforementioned loads
The QUANTUS consortium started activities to perform atom interferometry on a sounding rocket in the year 2011. Three sounding rocket missions (MAIUS-1 to MAIUS-3) have been planned to demonstrate BoseEinstein condensation and atom interferometry with rubidium and potassium atoms. Two different payloads MAIUS-A and MAIUS-B have been designed qualified and integrated in the time frame from 2011 until 2020. The MAIUS-A scientific payload is capable of performing single species experiment with rubidium only and was used as a technology demonstrator in the MAIUS-1 mission. The MAIUS-1 mission was conducted in fall 2016. On the 23rd of January 2017 the payload MAIUS-A was launched on a VSB-30 sounding rocket. The payload created the first Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) and performed atom interferometry aboard a sounding rocket with rubidium 87 atoms [Becker 2018]. Its successor MAIUS-B will be able to perform simultaneous experiments with Bose-Einstein Condensates of Rubidium-87 and Potassium-41 atoms. In order to achieve this ambitious scientific goal the experiments use various sensitive instruments imposing strong requirements on the thermal and mechanical design of the scientific payload. This paper gives a summary of the MAIUS-A and MAIUS-B scientific payload design with a focus on the thermal control system. Furthermore, the design of the GSE and the water cooling umbilicals is presented. The paper closes with an outlook on future atom interferometry payloads on sounding rockets and beyond.
The MAIUS-1 experiment is a pathfinder quantum optics experiment about to fly on a VSB-30 sounding rocket in November 2015. The scientific objective of the mission is to demonstrate the feasibility of creating a Bose-Einstein Condensate and performing atom interferometry aboard a sounding rocket with Rubidium 87atoms. This paper will summarize the thermal and mechanical design of the payload and its (sub)systems. Moreover the qualification procedures and the results of the qualification test will be presented.
The QUANTUS consortium started activities to perform atom interferometry on a sounding rocket in the year 2011. Three sounding rocket missions (MAIUS-1 to 3) have been planned to demonstrate Bose-Einstein condensation and atom interferometry with rubidium and potassium atoms. Two different payloads MAIUS-A and MAIUS-B are being designed, qualified and integrated in the time frame from 2011 until 2020. The MAIUS-A scientific payload demonstrated the first Bose-Einstein Condensates in Space in the challenging environment aboard a two-staged VSB-30 sounding rocket on the 23rd of January 2017. In order to achieve this ambitious scientific goal the experiment used various sensitive instruments imposing strong requirements on the thermal and mechanical design of the scientific payload. This paper gives a summary of the MAIUS-A and MAIUS-B scientific payload design. Furthermore, the lessons learned from the MAIUS-1 maiden flight as well as the integration and testing activities and their impact on the MAIUS-B scientific payload design are presented. The paper closes with an outlook on future atom interferometry payloads on sounding rockets and beyond.
Ultra-cold quantum gases in space promise to boost the sensitivity of matter-wave interferometers. Applications of the latter extend from fundamental physics over the use in navigation to interdisciplinary applications such as geodesy, e.g. satellite gravimetry [1, 2]. Exploiting quantum gases for high-precision interferometry places high demands on their control and manipulation. We take benefit of various microgravity platforms such as the Bremen drop tower [3], the Einstein elevator in Hannover [4], sounding rockets [5,6] and the international space station [7] to advance the necessary methods. The DLR-mission MAIUS-1 demonstrated Bose-Einstein condensation and performed first interferometry experiments [4]. NASA’s Cold Atom Laboratory continues this research in orbit on the ISS [7]. In addition, atom interferometry is pursued in highly dynamic environments such as parabolic flights [8]. Starting from a rubidium Bose-Einstein condensate, recently lowest expansion energies have been achieved by us in the Bremen drop tower as required for extending atom interferometry over several seconds [9]. Extending these methods to quantum mixtures not only opens up new physics in the absence of buoyancy, but also faces challenges regarding their use for interferometry. Interferometers based on two chemical elements have been proposed for quantum tests of the equivalence principle on the ISS as well as on satellites. Currently we prepare a sounding rocket mission to investigate the simultaneous generation and manipulation of potassium and rubidium condensates [10]. Together with CAL [7], these experiments will prepare the DLR-NASA multi-user facility BECCAL for research on quantum gas mixtures and interferometry [11] as well as enhance the readiness level of methods required for STE-QUEST [12], a proposal for a satellite mission currently studied in an modified version within ESA’s VOYAGE 2050 program [13].