Atom Interferometry in Space: Thermal Management and Magnetic Shielding

Atom interferometry is an exciting tool to probe fundamental physics. It is considered especially apt to test the universality of free fall by using two different sorts of atoms. The increasing sensitivity required for this kind of experiment sets severe requirements on its environments, instrument control, and systematic effects. This can partially be mitigated by going to space as was proposed, for example, in the Spacetime Explorer and Quantum Equivalence Principle Space Test (STE-QUEST) mission. However, the requirements on the instrument are still very challenging. For example, the specifications of the STE-QUEST mission imply that the Feshbach coils of the atom interferometer are allowed to change their radius only by about 260 nm or 2.6E-4% due to thermal expansion although they consume an average power of 22 W. Also Earth's magnetic field has to be suppressed by a factor of 10E5. We show in this article that with the right design such thermal and magnetic requirements can indeed be met and that these are not an impediment for the exciting physics possible with atom interferometers in space.Comment: v2: minor changes to agree with published version; 8 pages, 6 figure

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

We present a diode laser system optimized for laser cooling and atom interferometry with ultra-cold rubidium atoms aboard sounding rockets as an important milestone towards space-borne quantum sensors. Design, assembly and qualification of the system, combing micro-integrated distributed feedback (DFB) diode laser modules and free space optical bench technology is presented in the context of the MAIUS (Matter-wave Interferometry in Microgravity) mission. This laser system, with a volume of 21 liters and total mass of 27 kg, passed all qualification tests for operation on sounding rockets and is currently used in the integrated MAIUS flight system producing Bose-Einstein condensates and performing atom interferometry based on Bragg diffraction. The MAIUS payload is being prepared for launch in fall 2016. We further report on a reference laser system, comprising a rubidium stabilized DFB laser, which was operated successfully on the TEXUS 51 mission in April 2015. The system demonstrated a high level of technological maturity by remaining frequency stabilized throughout the mission including the rocket's boost phase

JOKARUS - Design of a compact optical iodine frequency reference for a sounding rocket mission

We present the design of a compact absolute optical frequency reference for space applications based on hyperfine transitions in molecular iodine with a targeted fractional frequency instability of better than $3\cdot 10^{-14}$. It is based on a micro-integrated extended cavity diode laser with integrated optical amplifier, fiber pigtailed second harmonic generation wave-guide modules, and a quasi-monolithic spectroscopy setup with operating electronics. The instrument described here is scheduled for launch end of 2017 aboard the TEXUS 54 sounding rocket as an important qualification step towards space application of iodine frequency references and related technologies. The payload will operate autonomously and its optical frequency will be compared to an optical frequency comb during its space flight

Optical fibers with interferometric path length stability by controlled heating for transmission of optical signals and as components in frequency standards

We present a simple method to stabilize the optical path length of an optical fiber to an accuracy of about 1/100 of the laser wavelength. We study the dynamic response of the path length to modulation of an electrically conductive heater layer of the fiber. The path length is measured against the laser wavelength by use of the Pound-Drever-Hall method; negative feedback is applied via the heater. We apply the method in the context of a cryogenic resonator frequency standard.Comment: Expanded introduction and outlook. 9 pages, 5 figure

New experimental proposals for testing Dirac equation

The advent of phenomenological quantum gravity has ushered us in the search for experimental tests of the deviations from general relativity predicted by quantum gravity or by string theories, and as a by--product of this quest the possible modifications that some field equations, for instance, the motion equation of spin--1/2--particles, have already been considered. In the present work a modified Dirac equation, whose extra term embraces a second--order time derivative, is taken as mainstay, and three different experimental proposals to detect it are put forward. The novelty in these ideas is that two of them do not fall within the extant approaches in this context, to wit, red--shift, atomic interferometry, or Hughes--Drever type--like experiments.Comment: Accepted in Physics Letters

A laser dilatometer setup to characterize dimensionally stable materials from 100 K to 300 K

In our structural dimensional metrology laboratory, we implemented a setup to determine coefficients of thermal expansions (CTE) of ultra-stable materials at temperatures from 300 K down to 100 K. Such low CTE materials are important for dimensionally stable structures in space and terrestrial applications, e. g. to enable precise measurements. This CTE characterization is done in the 10 ppb/K (10·10-9 K-1) range by applying small temperature variation around dedicated absolute temperatures. In order to accommodate arbitrary sample materials, we bounce light off mirrors attached to the sample by custom mounts. The light and therefore the thermal-induced length variations is then analyzed by an interferometer with sub-nanometer sensitivity. Here, we present a more detailed investigation of a process during sample measurements using differential wavefront sensing (DWS)

Note: Silicon Carbide Telescope Dimensional Stability for Space-based Gravitational Wave Detectors

Space-based gravitational wave detectors are conceived to detect gravitational waves in the low frequency range by measuring the distance between proof masses in spacecraft separated by millions of kilometers. One of the key elements is the telescope which has to have a dimensional stability better than 1 pm Hz(exp 1/2) at 3 mHz. In addition, the telescope structure must be light, strong, and stiff. For this reason a potential telescope structure consisting of a silicon carbide quadpod has been designed, constructed, and tested. We present dimensional stability results meeting the requirements at room temperature. Results at 60 C are also shown although the requirements are not met due to temperature fluctuations in the setup

Silicon Carbide Telescope Investigations for the LISA Mission

Space-based gravitational wave (GW) detectors are conceived to detect GWs in the low frequency range (mili-Hertz) by measuring the distance between free-falling proof masses in spacecraft (SC) separated by 5 Gm. The reference in the last decade has been the joint ESA-NASA mission LISA. One of the key elements of LISA is the telescope since it simultaneously gathers the light coming from the far SC (approximately or equal to 100 pW) and expands, collimates and sends the outgoing beam (2 W) to the far SC. Demanding requirements have been imposed on the telescope structure: the dimensional stability of the telescope must be approximately or equal to 1pm Hz(exp1/2) at 3 mHz and the distance between the primary and the secondary mirrors must change by less than 2.5 micrometer over the mission lifetime to prevent defocussing. In addition the telescope structure must be light, strong and stiff. For this reason a potential on-axis telescope structure for LISA consisting of a silicon carbide (SiC) quadpod structure has been designed, constructed and tested. The coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) in the LISA expected temperature range has been measured with a 1% accuracy which allows us to predict the shrinkage/expansion of the telescope due to temperature changes, and pico-meter dimensional stability has been measured at room temperature and at the expected operating temperature for the LISA telescope (around -6[deg]C). This work is supported by NASA Grants NNX10AJ38G and NX11AO26G