Future Gravitational Wave Detectors Based on Atom Interferometry

Abstract

We present the perspective of using atom interferometry for gravitational wave (GW) detection in the mHz to about 10 Hz frequency band. We focus on light-pulse atom interferometers which have been subject to intense developments in the last 25 years. We calculate the effect of the GW on the atom interferometer and present in details the atomic gradiometer configuration which has retained more attention recently. The principle of such a detector is to use free falling atoms to measure the phase of a laser, which is modified by the GW. We highlight the potential benefits of using atom interferometry compared to optical interferometry as well as the challenges which remain for the realization of an atom interferometry based GW detector. We present some of the important noise sources which are expected in such detectors and strategies to cirucumvent them. Experimental techniques related to cold atom interferometers are briefly explained. We finally present the current progress and projects in this rapidly evolving field.

31 pages, 10 figures, 74 references. To appear in the book "An Overview of Gravitational Waves: Theory and Detection", edited by G. Auger and E. Plagnol (World Scientific, 2017). Content of this review is limited to the published works until February 2016. Comments are welcome for future updates

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Cited by in corpus (4)

• Search for New Physics with Atoms and Molecules
• High-accuracy inertial measurements with cold-atom sensors
• Detection of Gravitational Waves using Parametric Resonance in Bose-Einstein Condensates
• Bose-Einstein condensates in microgravity and fundamental tests of gravity