Ultracold atom interferometry in space

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 1317
• Main Authors: Lachmann, Maike D., Ahlers, Holger, Becker, Dennis, Dinkelaker, Aline N., Grosse, Jens, Hellmig, Ortwin, Müntinga, Hauke, Schkolnik, Vladimir, Seidel, Stephan T., Wendrich, Thijs, Wenzlawski, André, Carrick, Benjamin, Gaaloul, Naceur, Lüdtke, Daniel, Braxmaier, Claus, Ertmer, Wolfgang, Krutzik, Markus, Lämmerzahl, Claus, Peters, Achim, Schleich, Wolfgang P., Sengstock, Klaus, Wicht, Andreas, Windpassinger, Patrick, Rasel, Ernst M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 26-02-2021; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 639/766/36/1121; 639/766/400/1100; 639/766/400/482; 639/766/483/1255; 639/766/483/3924; Humanities and Social Sciences; multidisciplinary; Science; Science (multidisciplinary)
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21628-z

Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) in free fall constitute a promising source for space-borne interferometry. Indeed, BECs enjoy a slowly expanding wave function, display a large spatial coherence and can be engineered and probed by optical techniques. Here we explore matter-wave fringes of multiple spinor components of a BEC released in free fall employing light-pulses to drive Bragg processes and induce phase imprinting on a sounding rocket. The prevailing microgravity played a crucial role in the observation of these interferences which not only reveal the spatial coherence of the condensates but also allow us to measure differential forces. Our work marks the beginning of matter-wave interferometry in space with future applications in fundamental physics, navigation and earth observation.
Conducting atom-optical experiments in space is interesting for fundamental physics and challenging due to different environment compared to ground. Here the authors report matter-wave interferometry in space using atomic BECs in a sounding rocket.