Atom interferometer as a freely falling clock for time-dilation measurements

Fuente: arXiv
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Autore principale: Roura, Albert
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2024
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author Roura, Albert
author_facet Roura, Albert
contents Light-pulse atom interferometers based on single-photon transitions are a promising tool for gravitational-wave detection in the mid-frequency band and the search for ultralight dark-matter fields. Here we present a novel measurement scheme that enables their use as freely falling clocks directly measuring relativistic time-dilation effects. The proposal is particularly timely because it can be implemented with no additional requirements in Fermilab's MAGIS-100 experiment or even in the 10-m prototypes that are expected to start operating very soon. This will allow the unprecedented measurement of gravitational time dilation in a local experiment with freely falling atoms, which is out of reach even for the best atomic-fountain clocks based on microwave transitions. The results are supported by a comprehensive treatment of relativistic effects in this kind of interferometers as well as a detailed analysis of the main systematic effects. Furthermore, the theoretical methods developed here constitute a valuable tool for modelling light-pulse atom interferometers based on single-photon transitions in general.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2402_11065
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Atom interferometer as a freely falling clock for time-dilation measurements
Roura, Albert
Atomic Physics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Quantum Physics
Light-pulse atom interferometers based on single-photon transitions are a promising tool for gravitational-wave detection in the mid-frequency band and the search for ultralight dark-matter fields. Here we present a novel measurement scheme that enables their use as freely falling clocks directly measuring relativistic time-dilation effects. The proposal is particularly timely because it can be implemented with no additional requirements in Fermilab's MAGIS-100 experiment or even in the 10-m prototypes that are expected to start operating very soon. This will allow the unprecedented measurement of gravitational time dilation in a local experiment with freely falling atoms, which is out of reach even for the best atomic-fountain clocks based on microwave transitions. The results are supported by a comprehensive treatment of relativistic effects in this kind of interferometers as well as a detailed analysis of the main systematic effects. Furthermore, the theoretical methods developed here constitute a valuable tool for modelling light-pulse atom interferometers based on single-photon transitions in general.
title Atom interferometer as a freely falling clock for time-dilation measurements
topic Atomic Physics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.11065