Gravity sensing: cold atom trap onboard a 6U CubeSat
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Gravity sensing: cold atom trap onboard a 6U CubeSat Diviya Devani1 · Stephen Maddox1 · Ryan Renshaw1 · Nigel Cox1 · Helen Sweeney1 · Trevor Cross1 · Michael Holynski2 · Raffaele Nolli2 · Jonathan Winch2 · Kai Bongs2 · Karen Holland3 · David Colebrook3 · Neil Adams4 · Kevin Quillien4 · James Buckle4 · Anupe Karde4 · Mark Farries5 · Tom Legg5 · Richard Webb5 · Corin Gawith6,7 · Sam A. Berry6 · Lewis Carpenter6 Received: 21 December 2019 / Revised: 16 June 2020 / Accepted: 17 June 2020 © The Author(s) 2020
Abstract “Cold atoms” can be used as ultra-sensitive sensors for measuring accelerations and are capable of mapping changes in the strength of gravity across the surface of the Earth. They could offer significant benefits to existing space based gravity sensing capabilities. Gravity sensors in space are already used for many Earth observation applications including monitoring polar ice mass, ocean currents and sea level. Cold atom sensors could enable higher resolution measurements which would allow monitoring of smaller water sources and discovery of new underground natural resources which are currently undetectable. The adoption of cold atom technology is constrained by low technology readiness level (TRL). Teledyne e2v and its partners are addressing this maturity gap through project Cold Atom Space PAyload (CASPA) which is an Innovate UK and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funded project, involving the University of Birmingham as science lead, XCAM, Clyde Space, Covesion, Gooch & Housego, and the University of Southampton. Through the CASPA project the consortium have built and vibration tested a 6U (approximate dimensions: 100 × 200 × 300 mm) cube Satellite (CubeSat) that is capable of laser cooling atoms down to 100’s of micro kelvin, as a pre-cursor to gravity sensors for future Earth observation missions. Keywords Gravity sensing · Cold atom interferometry · Cube satellite · Quantum payload
* Diviya Devani diviya.devani@teledyne‑e2v.com
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Teledyne e2v, 106 Waterhouse Lane, Chelmsford CM1 2QU, Essex, England, UK
Michael Holynski [email protected]
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Karen Holland [email protected]
Atom Interferometry Midlands Ultracold Atom Research Centre, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
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Neil Adams [email protected]
XCAM Ltd., 2 Stone Circle Road, Northampton NN3 8RF, UK
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Mark Farries [email protected]
AAC Clyde Space, Skypark 5, 45 Finnieston Street, Glasgow G38JU, Scotland, UK
5
Gooch & Housego, Broomhill Way, Torquay TQ2 7QL, UK
Corin Gawith [email protected]
6
University of Southampton, Optoelectronics Research Centre, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
Sam A. Berry [email protected]
7
Covesion Ltd., Premier Centre, Premier Way, Romsey SO51 9DG, UK
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1 Introduction 1.1 Existing ground based gravity sensors Existing ground based gravity sensors are based on classical physics and include methods such as measuring the ex
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