Design of a dual species atom interferometer for space
Creators: name: Schuldt, Thilo
name: Schubert, Christian
name: Krutzik, Markus
name: Bote, Lluis Gesa
name: Gaaloul, Naceur
name: Hartwig, Jonas
name: Ahlers, Holger
name: Herr, Waldemar
name: Posso-Trujillo, Katerine
name: Rudolph, Jan
name: Seidel, Stephan
name: Wendrich, Thijs
name: Ertmer, Wolfgang
name: Herrmann, Sven
name: Kubelka-Lange, André
name: Milke, Alexander
name: Rievers, Benny
name: Rocco, Emanuele
name: Hinton, Andrew
name: Bongs, Kai
name: Oswald, Markus
name: Franz, Matthias
name: Hauth, Matthias
name: Peters, Achim
name: Bawamia, Ahmad
name: Wicht, Andreas
name: Battelier, Baptiste
name: Bertoldi, Andrea
name: Bouyer, Philippe
name: Landragin, Arnaud
name: Massonnet, Didier
name: Lévèque, Thomas
name: Wenzlawski, Andre
name: Hellmig, Ortwin
name: Windpassinger, Patrick
name: Sengstock, Klaus
name: von Klitzing, Wolf
name: Chaloner, Chris
name: Summers, David
name: Ireland, Philip
name: Mateos, Ignacio
name: Sopuerta, Carlos F.
name: Sorrentino, Fiodor
name: Tino, Guglielmo M.
name: Williams, Michael
name: Trenkel, Christian
name: Gerardi, Domenico
name: Chwalla, Michael
name: Burkhardt, Johannes
name: Johann, Ulrich
name: Heske, Astrid
name: Wille, Eric
name: Gehler, Martin
name: Cacciapuoti, Luigi
name: Gürlebeck, Norman
name: Braxmaier, Claus
name: Rasel, Ernst
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Instrumentation and Detectors (physics.ins-det)
subject: General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)
subject: Atomic Physics (physics.atom-ph)
subject: Space Physics (physics.space-ph)
subject: Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Atom interferometers have a multitude of proposed applications in space including precise measurements of the Earth's gravitational field, in navigation &amp; ranging, and in fundamental physics such as tests of the weak equivalence principle (WEP) and gravitational wave detection. While atom interferometers are realized routinely in ground-based laboratories, current efforts aim at the development of a space compatible design optimized with respect to dimensions, weight, power consumption, mechanical robustness and radiation hardness. In this paper, we present a design of a high-sensitivity differential dual species $^{85}$Rb/$^{87}$Rb atom interferometer for space, including physics package, laser system, electronics and software. The physics package comprises the atom source consisting of dispensers and a 2D magneto-optical trap (MOT), the science chamber with a 3D-MOT, a magnetic trap based on an atom chip and an optical dipole trap (ODT) used for Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) creation and interferometry, the detection unit, the vacuum system for $10^{-11}$ mbar ultra-high vacuum generation, and the high-suppression factor magnetic shielding as well as the thermal control system. The laser system is based on a hybrid approach using fiber-based telecom components and high-power laser diode technology and includes all laser sources for 2D-MOT, 3D-MOT, ODT, interferometry and detection. Manipulation and switching of the laser beams is carried out on an optical bench using Zerodur bonding technology. The instrument consists of 9 units with an overall mass of 221 kg, an average power consumption of 608 W (819 W peak), and a volume of 470 liters which would well fit on a satellite to be launched with a Soyuz rocket, as system studies have shown.
description: 30 pages, 23 figures, accepted for publication in Experimental Astronomy