Related papers: Probing gravity by holding atoms for 20 seconds
Quantum reflection occurs when ultra-cold atoms are incident on a material surface with sufficiently low velocity. The reflecting matter wave can interfere with the incident wave to form a detectable pattern, and this pattern contains…
The effect of the Earth's gravitational potential on a quantum wave function has only been observed for massive particles. In this paper we present a scheme to measure a gravitationally induced phase shift on a single photon travelling in a…
Recent proposals for space-borne gravitational wave detectors based on atom interferometry rely on extremely narrow single-photon transition lines as featured by alkaline-earth metals or atomic species with similar electronic configuration.…
We evaluate the sensitivity of a dual cloud atom interferometer to the measurement of vertical gravity gradient. We study the influence of most relevant experimental parameters on noise and long-term drifts. Results are also applied to the…
We present a gravitationally rigorous and clear answer, in the negative, to the question whether gravimetry with atom interferometers is equivalent to the the measurement of the relative gravitational time dilation of two clocks separated…
The successful miniaturisation of extremely accurate atomic clocks and atom interferometers invites prospects for satellite missions to perform precision experiments. We discuss the effects predicted by general relativity and alternative…
Interferometers based on ultra-cold atoms enable an absolute measurement of inertial forces with unprecedented precision. However, their resolution is fundamentally restricted by quantum fluctuations. Improved resolutions with entangled or…
The periodicity inherent to any interferometric signal entails a fundamental trade-off between sensitivity and dynamic range of interferometry-based sensors. Here we develop a methodology for significantly extending the dynamic range of…
Recent developments in fundamental physics (in theory as well as in technology) provide novel capabilities for geodetic applications such as refined observations of the Earth`s gravity field. We will focus on two new concepts: one applies…
The past three decades have shown dramatic progress in the ability to manipulate and coherently control the motion of atoms. This exquisite control offers the prospect of a new generation of inertial sensors with unprecedented sensitivity…
In this letter we present a computation of the phase induced by test masses of different geometry, in the framework of non-newtonian gravitation, on an ideal separated arms atom interferometer. We deduce the related limits on the…
In this work we study the influence of the newtonian noise on atom interferometers applied to the detection of gravitational waves, and we compute the resulting limits to the sensitivity in two different configurations: a single atom…
We propose a compact atom interferometer to measure homogeneous constant forces guiding the arms via shortcuts to adiabatic paths. For a given sensitivity, which only depends on the space-time area of the guiding paths, the cycle time can…
The unprecedented precision of atom interferometry will soon lead to laboratory tests of general relativity to levels that will rival or exceed those reached by astrophysical observations. We propose such an experiment that will initially…
We study an interferometric approach to measure gravitational mass of antihydrogen. The method consists of preparing a coherent superposition of antihydrogen quantum state localized near a material surface in the gravitational field of the…
Atom interferometry is a rapidly advancing field and this Letter proposes an experiment based on existing technology that can search for new short distance forces. With current technology it is possible to improve the sensitivity by up to a…
Quantum sensors exploiting matter waves interferometry promise to realize a new generation of Gravitational Wave detectors. The intrinsic stability of specific atomic energy levels makes atom interferometers and clocks ideal candidates to…
We present a new measurement of the Newtonian gravitational constant G based on cold atom interferometry. Freely falling samples of laser-cooled rubidium atoms are used in a gravity gradiometer to probe the field generated by nearby source…
We propose an experimental setup to probe the interplay between the quantum superposition principle and gravitational time dilation arising from the mass-energy equivalence. It capitalizes on state-of-the-art atom interferometers that can…
We present atom-interferometer tests of the local Lorentz invariance of post-Newtonian gravity. An experiment probing for anomalous vertical gravity on Earth, which has already been performed by us, uses the highest-resolution atomic…