Ultra-cold matter-wave interferometer applied to the test of the weak equivalence principle in microgravity

Au cours des dernières décennies, des avancées majeures ont été réalisées dans le domaine du piègeage et du refroidissement d'atome par des méthodes optiques. Ces nouvelles techniques ont ouvert la voie vers la métrologie de haute-précision pour de nombreuses applications, s'étendant de la géodésie à la navigation inertielle en passant par des tests de physique fondamentale.Ces travaux de thèses s'inscrivent dans ce contexte et ce sont déroulés dans le cadre du projet ICE, qui a pour but de développer un accéléromètre à ondes de matière, bi-espèce 87Rb et 39K), appliqué au test du principe d'équivalence faible.Afin de s'affranchir des limitations liées à la chute libre des atomes, l'instrument a été conçu pour opérer dans un environnement de micropesanteur, ce qui en fait un démonstrateur technologique de choix pour de futures applications spatiales. Le régime d'impesanteur est concrètement atteint par le biais de deux plateformes complémentaires : l'avion 0G de Novespace, et un simulateur de micropesanteur fonctionnant sur le principe de l'ascenseur d'Einstein, installé au laboratoire. La réalisation d'interféromètres à longs temps d'interrogation (2T=200 ms) ainsi que les progrès ayant été réalisés sur l'expérience en terme de cohérence de la source atomique laissent entrevoir, à moyen terme, un test de haute sensibilité du paramètre d'Eötvös avec des ondes de matières ultra-froides en micropesanteur.Over the past decades, major leaps forward have been made in trapping and cooling atoms by optical methods. These new techniques paved the way to high-precision metrology in many applications, going from geodesy to inertial navigation, not forgetting fundamental physics. This work has been conducted in the framework of the ICE experiment, aiming to develop a bi-spescies atom accelerometer (87Rb et 39K), dedicated to the test of the weak equivalence principle. In order to get rid of limitations related to atoms free falling in the experimental setup, this instrument has been designed to operate in a microgravity environment, making it a key technological demonstrator for future space applications. The weightlessness regime is concretely accessed by means of two complementary platforms, namely the Novespace 0G-aircraft and an Einstein elevator installed in the laboratory. The realization of long interrogation time interferometer (2T=200 ms) and progress which have been made in terms of atomic sources coherence give a glimpse, in the medium term, to a high sensitivity test of the Eötvös parameter with ultra-cold matter waves in microgravity

Ultra-cold matter-wave interferometer applied to the test of the weak equivalence principle in microgravity

Au cours des dernières décennies, des avancées majeures ont été réalisées dans le domaine du piègeage et du refroidissement d'atome par des méthodes optiques. Ces nouvelles techniques ont ouvert la voie vers la métrologie de haute-précision pour de nombreuses applications, s'étendant de la géodésie à la navigation inertielle en passant par des tests de physique fondamentale.Ces travaux de thèses s'inscrivent dans ce contexte et ce sont déroulés dans le cadre du projet ICE, qui a pour but de développer un accéléromètre à ondes de matière, bi-espèce 87Rb et 39K), appliqué au test du principe d'équivalence faible.Afin de s'affranchir des limitations liées à la chute libre des atomes, l'instrument a été conçu pour opérer dans un environnement de micropesanteur, ce qui en fait un démonstrateur technologique de choix pour de futures applications spatiales. Le régime d'impesanteur est concrètement atteint par le biais de deux plateformes complémentaires : l'avion 0G de Novespace, et un simulateur de micropesanteur fonctionnant sur le principe de l'ascenseur d'Einstein, installé au laboratoire. La réalisation d'interféromètres à longs temps d'interrogation (2T=200 ms) ainsi que les progrès ayant été réalisés sur l'expérience en terme de cohérence de la source atomique laissent entrevoir, à moyen terme, un test de haute sensibilité du paramètre d'Eötvös avec des ondes de matières ultra-froides en micropesanteur.Over the past decades, major leaps forward have been made in trapping and cooling atoms by optical methods. These new techniques paved the way to high-precision metrology in many applications, going from geodesy to inertial navigation, not forgetting fundamental physics. This work has been conducted in the framework of the ICE experiment, aiming to develop a bi-spescies atom accelerometer (87Rb et 39K), dedicated to the test of the weak equivalence principle. In order to get rid of limitations related to atoms free falling in the experimental setup, this instrument has been designed to operate in a microgravity environment, making it a key technological demonstrator for future space applications. The weightlessness regime is concretely accessed by means of two complementary platforms, namely the Novespace 0G-aircraft and an Einstein elevator installed in the laboratory. The realization of long interrogation time interferometer (2T=200 ms) and progress which have been made in terms of atomic sources coherence give a glimpse, in the medium term, to a high sensitivity test of the Eötvös parameter with ultra-cold matter waves in microgravity

Interféromètre à ondes de matière ultra-froides pour le test du principe d'équivalence faible en micropesanteur

Over the past decades, major leaps forward have been made in trapping and cooling atoms by optical methods. These new techniques paved the way to high-precision metrology in many applications, going from geodesy to inertial navigation, not forgetting fundamental physics. This work has been conducted in the framework of the ICE experiment, aiming to develop a bi-spescies atom accelerometer ($^{87}$Rb et $^{39}$K), dedicated to the test of the weak equivalence principle. In order to get rid of limitations related to atoms free falling in the experimental setup, this instrument has been designed to operate in a microgravity environment, making it a key technological demonstrator for future space applications. The weightlessness regime is concretely accessed by means of two complementary platforms, namely the Novespace 0G-aircraft and an Einstein elevator installed in the laboratory. The realization of long interrogation time interferometer (2$T$=200 ms) and progress which have been made in terms of atomic sources coherence give a glimpse, in the medium term, to a high sensitivity test of the Eötvös parameter with ultra-cold matter waves in microgravity.Au cours des dernières décennies, des avancées majeures ont été réalisées dans le domaine du piègeage et du refroidissement d'atome par des méthodes optiques. Ces nouvelles techniques ont ouvert la voie vers la métrologie de haute-précision pour de nombreuses applications, s'étendant de la géodésie à la navigation inertielle en passant par des tests de physique fondamentale.Ces travaux de thèses s'inscrivent dans ce contexte et ce sont déroulés dans le cadre du projet ICE, qui a pour but de développer un accéléromètre à ondes de matière, bi-espèce ($^{87}$Rb et $^{39}$K), appliqué au test du principe d'équivalence faible.Afin de s'affranchir des limitations liées à la chute libre des atomes, l'instrument a été conçu pour opérer dans un environnement de micropesanteur, ce qui en fait un démonstrateur technologique de choix pour de futures applications spatiales. Le régime d'impesanteur est concrètement atteint par le biais de deux plateformes complémentaires : l'avion 0G de Novespace, et un simulateur de micropesanteur fonctionnant sur le principe de l'ascenseur d'Einstein, installé au laboratoire. La réalisation d'interféromètres à longs temps d'interrogation (2$T$=200 ms) ainsi que les progrès ayant été réalisés sur l'expérience en terme de cohérence de la source atomique laissent entrevoir, à moyen terme, un test de haute sensibilité du paramètre d'Eötvös avec des ondes de matières ultra-froides en micropesanteur

All-Optical Bose-Einstein Condensates in Microgravity

4 pages + references, 5 figuresWe report on the all-optical production of Bose-Einstein condensates in microgravity using a combination of grey molasses cooling, light-shift engineering and optical trapping in a painted potential. Forced evaporative cooling in a 3-m high Einstein elevator results in $4 \times 10^4$ condensed atoms every 13.5 s, with a temperature as low as 35 nK. In this system, the atomic cloud can expand in weightlessness for up to 400 ms, paving the way for atom interferometry experiments with extended interrogation times and studies of ultra-cold matter physics at low energies on ground or in Space

Testing the universality of free fall using correlated 39K–87Rb atom interferometers

International audienceWe demonstrate how simultaneously operated 39K–87Rb interferometers exhibiting a high level of correlation can be used to make competitive tests of the university of free fall. This work provides an overview of our experimental apparatus and data analysis procedure, including a detailed study of systematic effects. With a total interrogation time of 2T=40 ms in a compact apparatus, we reach a statistical uncertainty on the measurement of the Eötvös parameter of 7.8×10−8 after 2.4×104 s of integration. The main limitations of our measurements arise from a combination of wavefront aberrations, the quadratic Zeeman effect in 39K, parasitic interferometers in 87Rb, and the velocity sensitivity of our detection system. These systematic errors limit the accuracy of our measurement to η=0.9(1.6)×10−6. We discuss prospects for improvements using ultracold atoms at extended interrogation times

LISA AIVT Optical Ground Support Equipement technology developments

International audienceThe LISA space interferometer aims at GW detection with »3x10-20/√Hz strain sensitivity, resulting in a displacement sensitivity of 11pm/√Hz over a path length of 2.5x109 m in the frequency range from 3x10-5 to 1 Hz.The LISA France Collaboration is in charge of the ground optical tests of the MOSA (Moving Optical Sub-Assembly), including the Optical Bench, Telescope and Gravitational Reference Sensor. Special check-out equipment is required, such as the Far-Field Optical Ground Support Equipment aiming at measuring the Tilt-To-Length coupling coefficient between angular residual beam jitter and longitudinal path length. The FF-OGSE simulates the incoming jittering beam and measures the associated longitudinal path length change.We present two prototypes – the Zerodur InterFerOmeter and the TTL-OB - that will demonstrate the optical performance, the functional tests, the limits on sensitivity and the precision of the path length measurements achievable on-ground. These two benches are the first part of the design and specification for the FF-OGSE.The Stray Light OGSE aims at stray light characterization in the integrated MOSA. It measures and identifies, separately, the different sources of stray light through the measurement of the corresponding fringe patterns while scanning the laser’s optical frequency

LISA AIVT Optical Ground Support Equipement technology developments

International audienceThe LISA space interferometer aims at GW detection with »3x10-20/√Hz strain sensitivity, resulting in a displacement sensitivity of 11pm/√Hz over a path length of 2.5x109 m in the frequency range from 3x10-5 to 1 Hz.The LISA France Collaboration is in charge of the ground optical tests of the MOSA (Moving Optical Sub-Assembly), including the Optical Bench, Telescope and Gravitational Reference Sensor. Special check-out equipment is required, such as the Far-Field Optical Ground Support Equipment aiming at measuring the Tilt-To-Length coupling coefficient between angular residual beam jitter and longitudinal path length. The FF-OGSE simulates the incoming jittering beam and measures the associated longitudinal path length change.We present two prototypes – the Zerodur InterFerOmeter and the TTL-OB - that will demonstrate the optical performance, the functional tests, the limits on sensitivity and the precision of the path length measurements achievable on-ground. These two benches are the first part of the design and specification for the FF-OGSE.The Stray Light OGSE aims at stray light characterization in the integrated MOSA. It measures and identifies, separately, the different sources of stray light through the measurement of the corresponding fringe patterns while scanning the laser’s optical frequency

LISA AIVT Optical Ground Support Equipement technology developments

International audienceThe LISA space interferometer aims at GW detection with »3x10-20/√Hz strain sensitivity, resulting in a displacement sensitivity of 11pm/√Hz over a path length of 2.5x109 m in the frequency range from 3x10-5 to 1 Hz.The LISA France Collaboration is in charge of the ground optical tests of the MOSA (Moving Optical Sub-Assembly), including the Optical Bench, Telescope and Gravitational Reference Sensor. Special check-out equipment is required, such as the Far-Field Optical Ground Support Equipment aiming at measuring the Tilt-To-Length coupling coefficient between angular residual beam jitter and longitudinal path length. The FF-OGSE simulates the incoming jittering beam and measures the associated longitudinal path length change.We present two prototypes – the Zerodur InterFerOmeter and the TTL-OB - that will demonstrate the optical performance, the functional tests, the limits on sensitivity and the precision of the path length measurements achievable on-ground. These two benches are the first part of the design and specification for the FF-OGSE.The Stray Light OGSE aims at stray light characterization in the integrated MOSA. It measures and identifies, separately, the different sources of stray light through the measurement of the corresponding fringe patterns while scanning the laser’s optical frequency

LISA AIVT Optical Ground Support Equipement technology developments

International audienceThe LISA space interferometer aims at GW detection with »3x10-20/√Hz strain sensitivity, resulting in a displacement sensitivity of 11pm/√Hz over a path length of 2.5x109 m in the frequency range from 3x10-5 to 1 Hz.The LISA France Collaboration is in charge of the ground optical tests of the MOSA (Moving Optical Sub-Assembly), including the Optical Bench, Telescope and Gravitational Reference Sensor. Special check-out equipment is required, such as the Far-Field Optical Ground Support Equipment aiming at measuring the Tilt-To-Length coupling coefficient between angular residual beam jitter and longitudinal path length. The FF-OGSE simulates the incoming jittering beam and measures the associated longitudinal path length change.We present two prototypes – the Zerodur InterFerOmeter and the TTL-OB - that will demonstrate the optical performance, the functional tests, the limits on sensitivity and the precision of the path length measurements achievable on-ground. These two benches are the first part of the design and specification for the FF-OGSE.The Stray Light OGSE aims at stray light characterization in the integrated MOSA. It measures and identifies, separately, the different sources of stray light through the measurement of the corresponding fringe patterns while scanning the laser’s optical frequency