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author Baynham, Charles
Bertoldi, Andrea
Blas, Diego
Buchmueller, Oliver
Calatroni, Sergio
Charmandaris, Vassilis
Chiofalo, Maria Luisa
Cladé, Pierre
Coleman, Jonathon
Di Pumpo, Fabio
Ellis, John
Gaaloul, Naceur
Guellati-Khelifa, Saïda
Harte, Tiffany
Hobson, Richard
Holynski, Michael
Lellouch, Samuel
Lombriser, Lucas
Asamar, Elias Lopez
Maggiore, Michele
McCabe, Christopher
Mitchell, Jeremiah
Rasel, Ernst M.
Nieto, Federico Sanchez
Schleich, Wolfgang
Schlippert, Dennis
Schneider, Ulrich
Schramm, Steven
Soares-Santos, Marcelle
Tino, Guglielmo M.
Tinsley, Jonathan N.
Valenzuela, Tristan
van der Grinten, Maurits
von Klitzing, Wolf
author_facet Baynham, Charles
Bertoldi, Andrea
Blas, Diego
Buchmueller, Oliver
Calatroni, Sergio
Charmandaris, Vassilis
Chiofalo, Maria Luisa
Cladé, Pierre
Coleman, Jonathon
Di Pumpo, Fabio
Ellis, John
Gaaloul, Naceur
Guellati-Khelifa, Saïda
Harte, Tiffany
Hobson, Richard
Holynski, Michael
Lellouch, Samuel
Lombriser, Lucas
Asamar, Elias Lopez
Maggiore, Michele
McCabe, Christopher
Mitchell, Jeremiah
Rasel, Ernst M.
Nieto, Federico Sanchez
Schleich, Wolfgang
Schlippert, Dennis
Schneider, Ulrich
Schramm, Steven
Soares-Santos, Marcelle
Tino, Guglielmo M.
Tinsley, Jonathan N.
Valenzuela, Tristan
van der Grinten, Maurits
von Klitzing, Wolf
contents We propose an O(100)m Atom Interferometer (AI) experiment -- AICE -- to be installed against a wall of the PX46 access shaft to the LHC. This experiment would probe unexplored ranges of the possible couplings of bosonic ultralight dark matter (ULDM) to atomic constituents and undertake a pioneering search for gravitational waves (GWs) at frequencies intermediate between those to which existing and planned experiments are sensitive, among other fundamental physics studies. A conceptual feasibility study showed that this AI experiment could be isolated from the LHC by installing a shielding wall in the TX46 gallery, and surveyed issues related to the proximity of the LHC machine, finding no technical obstacles. A detailed technical implementation study has shown that the preparatory civil-engineering work, installation of bespoke radiation shielding, deployment of access-control systems and safety alarms, and installation of an elevator platform could be carried out during LS3, allowing installation and operation of the AICE detector to proceed during Run 4 without impacting HL-LHC operation. These studies have established that PX46 is a uniquely promising location for an AI experiment. We foresee that, if the CERN management encourages this Letter of Intent, a significant fraction of the Terrestrial Very Long Baseline Atom Interferometer (TVLBAI) Proto-Collaboration may wish to contribute to AICE.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_11867
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Letter of Intent: AICE -- 100m Atom Interferometer Experiment at CERN
Baynham, Charles
Bertoldi, Andrea
Blas, Diego
Buchmueller, Oliver
Calatroni, Sergio
Charmandaris, Vassilis
Chiofalo, Maria Luisa
Cladé, Pierre
Coleman, Jonathon
Di Pumpo, Fabio
Ellis, John
Gaaloul, Naceur
Guellati-Khelifa, Saïda
Harte, Tiffany
Hobson, Richard
Holynski, Michael
Lellouch, Samuel
Lombriser, Lucas
Asamar, Elias Lopez
Maggiore, Michele
McCabe, Christopher
Mitchell, Jeremiah
Rasel, Ernst M.
Nieto, Federico Sanchez
Schleich, Wolfgang
Schlippert, Dennis
Schneider, Ulrich
Schramm, Steven
Soares-Santos, Marcelle
Tino, Guglielmo M.
Tinsley, Jonathan N.
Valenzuela, Tristan
van der Grinten, Maurits
von Klitzing, Wolf
High Energy Physics - Experiment
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Atomic Physics
Quantum Physics
We propose an O(100)m Atom Interferometer (AI) experiment -- AICE -- to be installed against a wall of the PX46 access shaft to the LHC. This experiment would probe unexplored ranges of the possible couplings of bosonic ultralight dark matter (ULDM) to atomic constituents and undertake a pioneering search for gravitational waves (GWs) at frequencies intermediate between those to which existing and planned experiments are sensitive, among other fundamental physics studies. A conceptual feasibility study showed that this AI experiment could be isolated from the LHC by installing a shielding wall in the TX46 gallery, and surveyed issues related to the proximity of the LHC machine, finding no technical obstacles. A detailed technical implementation study has shown that the preparatory civil-engineering work, installation of bespoke radiation shielding, deployment of access-control systems and safety alarms, and installation of an elevator platform could be carried out during LS3, allowing installation and operation of the AICE detector to proceed during Run 4 without impacting HL-LHC operation. These studies have established that PX46 is a uniquely promising location for an AI experiment. We foresee that, if the CERN management encourages this Letter of Intent, a significant fraction of the Terrestrial Very Long Baseline Atom Interferometer (TVLBAI) Proto-Collaboration may wish to contribute to AICE.
title Letter of Intent: AICE -- 100m Atom Interferometer Experiment at CERN
topic High Energy Physics - Experiment
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Atomic Physics
Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.11867