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Space-borne Bose–Einstein condensation for precision interferometry

Abstract

Owing to the low-gravity conditions in space, space-borne laboratories enable experiments with extended free-fall times. Because Bose–Einstein condensates have an extremely low expansion energy, space-borne atom interferometers based on Bose–Einstein condensation have the potential to have much greater sensitivity to inertial forces than do similar ground-based interferometers. On 23 January 2017, as part of the sounding-rocket mission MAIUS-1, we created Bose–Einstein condensates in space and conducted 110 experiments central to matter-wave interferometry, including laser cooling and trapping of atoms in the presence of the large accelerations experienced during launch. Here we report on experiments conducted during the six minutes of in-space flight in which we studied the phase transition from a thermal ensemble to a Bose–Einstein condensate and the collective dynamics of the resulting condensate. Our results provide insights into conducting cold-atom experiments in space, such as precision interferometry, and pave the way to miniaturizing cold-atom and photon-based quantum information concepts for satellite-based implementation. In addition, space-borne Bose–Einstein condensation opens up the possibility of quantum gas experiments in low-gravity conditions1,2.

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Fig. 1: Set-up for space-borne Bose–Einstein condensation.
Fig. 2: Schedule for the MAIUS-1 sounding-rocket mission.
Fig. 3: Phase transition to the BEC in space and on the ground, controlled by the final radio frequency of the forced evaporation.
Fig. 4: Excitation of the centre-of-mass motion and oscillations in the shape of a space-borne BEC as a result of its transport away from an atom chip.

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Data availability

Source Data for Figs. 3b, c and 4 are available with the online version of the paper.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the DLR Space Administration with funds provided by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) under grant numbers DLR 50WM1131-1137, 50WM0940 and 50WM1240. W.P.S. thanks Texas A&M University for a Faculty Fellowship at the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study at Texas A&M University and Texas A&M AgriLife for support for this work. The research of the IQST is financed partially by the Ministry of Science, Research and Arts Baden-Württemberg. N.G. acknowledges funding from Niedersächsisches Vorab through the Quantum- and Nano-Metrology (QUANOMET) initiative within the project QT3. W.H. acknowledges funding from Niedersächsisches Vorab through the project Foundations of Physics and Metrology project. R.C. is a recipient of DAAD (Procope action and mobility scholarship) and a member of the IP@Leibniz programme, which is supported by LU Hanover. S.T.S. is grateful for non-monetary support from DLR MORABA before, during and after the MAIUS-1 launch. We thank E. Kajari and M. Eckardt for the chip model code and A. Roura and W. Zeller for their input. We thank C. Spindeldreier and H. Blume from IMS Hanover for FPGA software development. We acknowledge the contributions of PTB Brunswick and LNQE Hanover towards fabricating the atom chip. We thank ESRANGE Kiruna and DLR MORABA Oberpfaffenhofen for assistance during the test and launch campaign.

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Nature thanks L. Liu and the other anonymous reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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D.B., M.D.L., S.T.S., H.A., A.N.D., J.G., O.H., H.M., V.S., T.W., A.We., B.W., T.F., D.L., M.P., M.E., A.K., H.D., A.K.-L. and M.K. designed, built and tested the apparatus. D.B., M.D.L., H.A., A.N.D., J.G., O.H., H.M., V.S., T.W., A.We. and B.W., with S.T.S. as scientific lead, planned and executed the campaign. D.B., M.D.L. and S.T.S. evaluated the data. N.G., R.C., E.C., S.A., W.H. and D.B. carried out the simulations. E.M.R., W.P.S., M.D.L., D.B. and N.G. wrote the manuscript, with contributions from all authors. C.B., W.E., C.L., A.P., W.P.S., K.S., R.W., A.Wi. and P.W. are the co-principal investigators of the project, and E.M.R. its principal investigator.

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Correspondence to Ernst M. Rasel.

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Becker, D., Lachmann, M.D., Seidel, S.T. et al. Space-borne Bose–Einstein condensation for precision interferometry. Nature 562, 391–395 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0605-1

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