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The Consortium for Ultra Cold Atoms in Space: experiments aboard the International Space Station

ORAL

Abstract

Following the 2011 NRC decadal report ``Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration,'' NASA installed of the Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL) aboard the International Space Station (ISS). In 2018 space-based Bose-Einstein condensates were successfully created and later in 2018, peer-reviewed investigator-driven experiments began.  In this talk, our team, the Consortium for Ultra Cold Atoms in Space (CUAS) will provide an overview of our experiments on quantum control and deep “delta-kick” cooling collimation of a Rb condensate in which we achieve mm-scale transport distances with residual oscillation velocities of hundredths of a µm/s.  In subsequent experiments using delta-kick collimation, we have achieved temperatures of a few tens of picokelvin on orbit.  More recently we have demonstrated a shear-Ramsey as well as a Mach-Zehnder atom interferometer.  Details of these results will be presented at this DAMOP conference.

Presenters

  • Nicholas P Bigelow

    University of Rochester, The Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA

Authors

  • Nicholas P Bigelow

    University of Rochester, The Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA

  • Naceur Gaaloul

    Leibniz University Hannover, Institute of Quantum Optics, Univ Hannover, Institut für Quantenoptik, Leibniz University Hannover, Hannover, Germany, Leibniz University Hannover, Institut für Quantenoptik, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Welfengarten 1, D-30167 Hannover, Germany

  • Matthias Meister

    Institut für Quantentechnologien, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Ulm, Germany, Institute of Quantum Technologies, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Ulm, Germany, Institut für Quantentechnologien, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Ulm, Germany, Institute of Quantum Technologies, German Aerospace Center