Mainz 2026 – scientific programme
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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 82: Matter Wave Interferometry, Metrology, and Fundamental Physics IV
Q 82.8: Talk
Friday, March 6, 2026, 16:15–16:30, P 11
In-trap Collimation for BEC Interferometry in Space — •Gabriel Müller1, Timothé Estrampes1,2, Eric Charron2, Wolfgang P. Schleich3, Nicholas P. Bigelow4, Naceur Gaaloul1, and the CUAS consortium4 — 1Institute of Quantum Optics, Leibniz University Hannover, Germany — 2Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d’Orsay, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, France — 3Institute of Quantum Optics and Center for Integrated Quantum Science and Technology (IQST), Ulm University, Germany — 4Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester, USA
Performing dual-species atom interferometry in space allows for precise tests of Einstein’s Equivalence Principle, enhanced in sensitivity by extended interrogation times in weightlessness. The accuracy of such experiments is limited by the expansion energies of the dual-species mixtures as well as their differential CoM control. For the simultaneous preparation of condensed mixtures, we propose an in-trap collimation technique featuring in-situ excitations of collective modes compatible with state-of-the-art atom-chip setups. Employing this technique, we demonstrate the 2D collimation of condensed 87Rb atoms in the Cold Atom Laboratory aboard the International Space Station. By careful characterization of the atom dynamics induced by time-dependent magnetic fields, we reduce the expansion energies and control the CoM release dynamics, enabling the observation of a freely expanding BEC up to 700 ms.
Keywords: atom interferometry; BEC collimation; microgravity and space; atom chip traps; dual-species mixtures