Vladimir Schkolnik

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

Space-borne frequency comb metrology

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

A mobile high-precision absolute gravimeter based on atom interferometry

and long-term stability of

A frequency comb and precision spectroscopy experiment in space

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

Mapping the absolute magnetic field and evaluating the quadratic Zeeman-effect-induced systematic error in an atom interferometer gravimeter

short-term noise of

Space-borne Bose–Einstein condensation for precision interferometry

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

Design of a compact diode laser system for dual-species atom interferometry with rubidium and potassium in space

. 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.

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

Precision time references in space are of major importance to satellite-based fundamental science, global satellite navigation, earth observation, and satellite formation flying. Here we report on the operation of a compact, rugged, and automated optical frequency comb setup on a sounding rocket in space under microgravity. The experiment compared two clocks, one based on the optical D2 transition in Rb, and another on hyperfine splitting in Cs. This represents the first frequency comb based optical clock operation in space, which is an important milestone for future satellite-based precision metrology. Based on the approach demonstrated here, future space-based precision metrology can be improved by orders of magnitude when referencing to state-of-the-art optical clock transitions.

First gravity measurements using the mobile atom interferometer GAIN

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 and robust diode laser system for atom interferometry on a sounding rocket

A frequency comb, DFB diode laser and rubidium spectroscopy cell have been developed and commissioned on a sounding rocket mission to demonstrate their technological maturity. The first laser spectroscopy experiment on an optical transition in space is performed.