Design of a dual species atom interferometer for space

• Published in: arXiv.org 2014-12
• Main Authors: Schuldt, Thilo, Schubert, Christian, Krutzik, Markus, Lluis Gesa Bote, Gaaloul, Naceur, Hartwig, Jonas, Ahlers, Holger, Herr, Waldemar, Posso-Trujillo, Katerine, Rudolph, Jan, Seidel, Stephan, Wendrich, Thijs, Ertmer, Wolfgang, Herrmann, Sven, Kubelka-Lange, André, Milke, Alexander, Rievers, Benny, Rocco, Emanuele, Hinton, Andrew, Bongs, Kai, Oswald, Markus, Franz, Matthias, Hauth, Matthias, Peters, Achim, Bawamia, Ahmad, Wicht, Andreas, Battelier, Baptiste, Bertoldi, Andrea, Bouyer, Philippe, Landragin, Arnaud, Massonnet, Didier, Lévèque, Thomas, Wenzlawski, Andre, Hellmig, Ortwin, Windpassinger, Patrick, Sengstock, Klaus, Wolf von Klitzing, Chaloner, Chris, Summers, David, Ireland, Philip, Mateos, Ignacio, Sopuerta, Carlos F, Sorrentino, Fiodor, Tino, Guglielmo M, Williams, Michael, Trenkel, Christian, Gerardi, Domenico, Chwalla, Michael, Burkhardt, Johannes, Ulrich, Johann, Heske, Astrid, Wille, Eric, Gehler, Martin, Cacciapuoti, Luigi, Gürlebeck, Norman, Braxmaier, Claus, Ernst Rasel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Atom interferometry; Design optimization; Dipoles; Dispensers; Earth gravitation; Equivalence principle; Gravitation; Gravitational fields; Gravitational waves; High power lasers; High vacuum; Interferometers; Interferometry; Laser beams; Lasers; Magnetic shielding; Physics; Power consumption; Radiation shielding; Semiconductor lasers; Spacecraft components; Thermal control systems; Weight
• ISSN: 2331-8422
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.1412.2713

Atom interferometers have a multitude of proposed applications in space including precise measurements of the Earth's gravitational field, in navigation & ranging, and in fundamental physics such as tests of the weak equivalence principle (WEP) and gravitational wave detection. While atom interferometers are realized routinely in ground-based laboratories, current efforts aim at the development of a space compatible design optimized with respect to dimensions, weight, power consumption, mechanical robustness and radiation hardness. In this paper, we present a design of a high-sensitivity differential dual species \(^{85}\)Rb/\(^{87}\)Rb atom interferometer for space, including physics package, laser system, electronics and software. The physics package comprises the atom source consisting of dispensers and a 2D magneto-optical trap (MOT), the science chamber with a 3D-MOT, a magnetic trap based on an atom chip and an optical dipole trap (ODT) used for Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) creation and interferometry, the detection unit, the vacuum system for \(10^{-11}\) mbar ultra-high vacuum generation, and the high-suppression factor magnetic shielding as well as the thermal control system. The laser system is based on a hybrid approach using fiber-based telecom components and high-power laser diode technology and includes all laser sources for 2D-MOT, 3D-MOT, ODT, interferometry and detection. Manipulation and switching of the laser beams is carried out on an optical bench using Zerodur bonding technology. The instrument consists of 9 units with an overall mass of 221 kg, an average power consumption of 608 W (819 W peak), and a volume of 470 liters which would well fit on a satellite to be launched with a Soyuz rocket, as system studies have shown.