Matthias Hauth

Mobile quantum gravity sensor with unprecedented stability

Changes of surface gravity on Earth are of great interest in geodesy, earth sciences and natural resource exploration. They are indicative of Earth systems mass redistributions and vertical surface motion, and are usually measured with falling corner-cube- and superconducting gravimeters (FCCG and SCG). Here we report on absolute gravity measurements with a mobile quantum gravimeter based on atom interferometry. The measurements were conducted in Germany and Sweden over periods of several days with simultaneous SCG and FCCG comparisons. They show the best-reported performance of mobile atomic gravimeters to date with an accuracy of

A mobile high-precision absolute gravimeter based on atom interferometry

\mathrm{39\,nm/s^2}

The Space Atom Interferometer project: status and prospects

and long-term stability of

Corrigendum: STE-QUEST—test of the universality of free fall using cold atom interferometry (2014 Class. Quantum Grav. 31 115010)

\mathrm{0.5\,nm/s^2}

GAIN - a portable Atom Interferometer for on site Measurements of Local Gravity

short-term noise of

STE-QUEST - Test of the Universality of Free Fall Using Cold Atom Interferometry

96\,\mathrm{nm/s^2/\sqrt{Hz}}

First gravity measurements using the mobile atom interferometer GAIN

. These measurements highlight the unique properties of atomic sensors. The achieved level of performance in a transportable instrument enables new applications in geodesy and related fields, such as continuous absolute gravity monitoring with a single instrument under rough environmental conditions.

Precision Gravity Tests with Atom Interferometry in Space

We present the new mobile and robust gravimeter GAIN (Gravimetric Atom Interferometer), which is based on interfering ensembles of laser cooled 87Rb atoms in an atomic fountain configuration. With a targeted accuracy of a few parts in 1010 for the measurement of local gravity, g, this instrument should offer about an order of magnitude improvement in performance over the best currently available absolute gravimeters. Together with the capability to perform measurements directly at sites of geophysical interest, this will open up the possibility for a number of interesting applications.

A Compact Atom Interferometer for Future Space Missions

This paper presents the current status and future prospects of the Space Atom Interferometer project (SAI), funded by the European Space Agency. Atom interferometry provides extremely sensitive and accurate tools for the measurement of inertial forces. Operation of atom interferometers in microgravity is expected to enhance the performance of such sensors. Main goal of SAI is to demonstrate the possibility of placing atom interferometers in space. The resulting drop-tower compatible atom interferometry acceleration sensor prototype is described. Expected performance limits and potential scientific applications in a micro-gravity environment are also discussed.

Design of a dual species atom interferometer for space

The theory of general relativity describes macroscopic phenomena driven by the influence of gravity while quantum mechanics brilliantly accounts for microscopic effects. Despite their tremendous individual success, a complete unification of fundamental interactions is missing and remains one of the most challenging and important quests in modern theoretical physics. The spacetime explorer and quantum equivalence principle space test satellite mission, proposed as a medium-size mission within the Cosmic Vision program of the European Space Agency (ESA), aims for testing general relativity with high precision in two experiments by performing a measurement of the gravitational redshift of the Sun and the Moon by comparing terrestrial clocks, and by performing a test of the universality of free fall of matter waves in the gravitational field of Earth comparing the trajectory of two Bose–Einstein condensates of 85Rb and 87Rb. The two ultracold atom clouds are monitored very precisely thanks to techniques of atom interferometry. This allows to reach down to an uncertainty in the Eötvös parameter of at least 2 × 10−15. In this paper, we report about the results of the phase A mission study of the atom interferometer instrument covering the description of the main payload elements, the atomic source concept, and the systematic error sources.