A space-based quantum gas laboratory at picokelvin energy scales.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 36550117.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-022-35274-6 and PMC identifier 9780313.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Ultracold quantum gases are ideal sources for high-precision space-borne sensing as proposed for Earth observation, relativistic geodesy and tests of fundamental physical laws as well as for studying new phenomena in many-body physics during extended free fall. Here we report on experiments with the Cold Atom Lab aboard the International Space Station, where we have achieved exquisite control over the quantum state of single <sup>87</sup>Rb Bose-Einstein condensates paving the way for future high-precision measurements. In particular, we have applied fast transport protocols to shuttle the atomic cloud over a millimeter distance with sub-micrometer accuracy and subsequently drastically reduced the total expansion energy to below 100 pK with matter-wave lensing techniques.