Quantum gas mixtures and dual-species atom interferometry in space

authored by: Ethan R. Elliott, David C. Aveline, Nicholas P. Bigelow, Patrick Boegel, Sofia Botsi, Eric Charron, José P. D’Incao, Peter Engels, Timothé Estrampes, Naceur Gaaloul, James R. Kellogg, James M. Kohel, Norman E. Lay, Nathan Lundblad, Matthias Meister, Maren E. Mossman, Gabriel Müller, Holger Müller, Kamal Oudrhiri, Leah E. Phillips, Annie Pichery, Ernst M. Rasel, Charles A. Sackett, Matteo Sbroscia, Wolfgang P. Schleich, Robert J. Thompson, Jason R. Williams
Abstract: The capability to reach ultracold atomic temperatures in compact instruments has recently been extended into space^1,2. Ultracold temperatures amplify quantum effects, whereas free fall allows further cooling and longer interactions time with gravity—the final force without a quantum description. On Earth, these devices have produced macroscopic quantum phenomena such as Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs), superfluidity, and strongly interacting quantum gases³. Terrestrial quantum sensors interfering the superposition of two ultracold atomic isotopes have tested the universality of free fall (UFF), a core tenet of Einstein’s classical gravitational theory, at the 10⁻¹² level⁴. In space, cooling the elements needed to explore the rich physics of strong interactions or perform quantum tests of the UFF has remained elusive. Here, using upgraded hardware of the multiuser Cold Atom Lab (CAL) instrument aboard the International Space Station (ISS), we report, to our knowledge, the first simultaneous production of a dual-species BEC in space (formed from ⁸⁷Rb and ⁴¹K), observation of interspecies interactions, as well as the production of ³⁹K ultracold gases. Operating a single laser at a ‘magic wavelength’ at which Rabi rates of simultaneously applied Bragg pulses are equal, we have further achieved the first spaceborne demonstration of simultaneous atom interferometry with two atomic species (⁸⁷Rb and ⁴¹K). These results are an important step towards quantum tests of UFF in space and will allow scientists to investigate aspects of few-body physics, quantum chemistry and fundamental physics in new regimes without the perturbing asymmetry of gravity.
Organisation(s): Institute of Quantum Optics
External Organisation(s): California Institute of Caltech (Caltech)
University of Rochester
Ulm University
Universite Paris-Sud
Carson College of Business
Bates College
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
University of San Diego
University of California at Berkeley
University of Virginia
Texas A and M University
University of Colorado Boulder
Type: Article
Journal: NATURE
Volume: 623
Pages: 502-508
No. of pages: 12
ISSN: 0028-0836
Publication date: 16.11.2023
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: General
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2306.15223 (Access: Open)
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06645-w (Access: Closed)

BibTeX

@article{14bad6d847964317b901ec23a79f13f5,
title = "Quantum gas mixtures and dual-species atom interferometry in space",
abstract = "The capability to reach ultracold atomic temperatures in compact instruments has recently been extended into space 1,2. Ultracold temperatures amplify quantum effects, whereas free fall allows further cooling and longer interactions time with gravity—the final force without a quantum description. On Earth, these devices have produced macroscopic quantum phenomena such as Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs), superfluidity, and strongly interacting quantum gases 3. Terrestrial quantum sensors interfering the superposition of two ultracold atomic isotopes have tested the universality of free fall (UFF), a core tenet of Einstein{\textquoteright}s classical gravitational theory, at the 10−12 level 4. In space, cooling the elements needed to explore the rich physics of strong interactions or perform quantum tests of the UFF has remained elusive. Here, using upgraded hardware of the multiuser Cold Atom Lab (CAL) instrument aboard the International Space Station (ISS), we report, to our knowledge, the first simultaneous production of a dual-species BEC in space (formed from 87Rb and 41K), observation of interspecies interactions, as well as the production of 39K ultracold gases. Operating a single laser at a {\textquoteleft}magic wavelength{\textquoteright} at which Rabi rates of simultaneously applied Bragg pulses are equal, we have further achieved the first spaceborne demonstration of simultaneous atom interferometry with two atomic species (87Rb and 41K). These results are an important step towards quantum tests of UFF in space and will allow scientists to investigate aspects of few-body physics, quantum chemistry and fundamental physics in new regimes without the perturbing asymmetry of gravity.",
author = "Elliott, {Ethan R.} and Aveline, {David C.} and Bigelow, {Nicholas P.} and Patrick Boegel and Sofia Botsi and Eric Charron and D{\textquoteright}Incao, {Jos{\'e} P.} and Peter Engels and Timoth{\'e} Estrampes and Naceur Gaaloul and Kellogg, {James R.} and Kohel, {James M.} and Lay, {Norman E.} and Nathan Lundblad and Matthias Meister and Mossman, {Maren E.} and Gabriel M{\"u}ller and Holger M{\"u}ller and Kamal Oudrhiri and Phillips, {Leah E.} and Annie Pichery and Rasel, {Ernst M.} and Sackett, {Charles A.} and Matteo Sbroscia and Schleich, {Wolfgang P.} and Thompson, {Robert J.} and Williams, {Jason R.}",
note = "Funding Information: We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of current and former members of CAL{\textquoteright}s operations and technical teams and those of the team at ColdQuanta. We also recognize the continuing support of JPL{\textquoteright}s Astronomy, Physics, and Space Technology Directorate, of the JPL Communications, Tracking, and Radar Division, the JPL Mission Assurance Office, the Payload Operations Integration Center (POIC) cadre at NASA{\textquoteright}s Marshall Space Flight Center, the International Space Station Program Office (ISSPO) at NASA{\textquoteright}s Johnson Space Center in Houston and ISS crew members. We are thankful for the dedicated support from the Biological and Physical Sciences Division (BPS) of NASA{\textquoteright}s Science Mission Directorate at the agency{\textquoteright}s headquarters in Washington, D.C. Finally, we appreciate the scientific guidance and discussions with CAL Principal Investigator E. Cornell, ISS Chief Scientist K. Costello, BPS Fundamental Physics Program Scientist M. Robinson and JPL Chief Scientist for Astronomy and Physics C. Lawrence. CAL was designed, managed and operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Task Order 80NM0018F0581). CAL and the Principal Investigator-led science teams, including E.R.E, D.C.A, N.P.B, S.B., J.P.D., P.E., J.R.K., J.M.K., N.E.L., N.L., M.E.M., H.M., K.O., L.E.P., C.A.S., M.S., R.J.T., and J.R.W. are sponsored by BPS of NASA{\textquoteright}s Science Mission Directorate at the agency{\textquoteright}s headquarters in Washington, D.C. and by ISSPO at NASA{\textquoteright}s Johnson Space Center in Houston. N.G., E.M.R., W.P.S., P.B., G.M. and A.P. acknowledge support by the DLR Space Administration with funds provided by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) under grant numbers DLR 50WM2245-A/B (CAL-II) and 50WM2253A (AI-quadrat). N.G. acknowledges support from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) under Germany{\textquoteright}s Excellence Strategy (EXC-2123 QuantumFrontiers Grants No. 390837967) and through CRC 1227 (DQ-mat) within Project No. A05. A.P., T.E. and E.C acknowledge support by the “ADI 2019/2022” project funded by the IDEX Paris-Saclay, ANR-11-IDEX-0003-02. HPC resources from the “M{\'e}socentre” computing center of CentraleSup{\'e}lec, {\'E}cole Normale Sup{\'e}rieure Paris-Saclay and Universit{\'e} Paris-Saclay was supported by CNRS and R{\'e}gion {\^I}le-de-France. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. ",
year = "2023",
month = nov,
day = "16",
doi = "10.48550/arXiv.2306.15223",
language = "English",
volume = "623",
pages = "502--508",
journal = "NATURE",
issn = "0028-0836",
publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",
}