Ultra-cool quantum breakthrough achieved in a 1st can transform aircraft navigation

A new study reveals that researchers at NASA’s Cold Atom Lab (CAL) have measured subtle vibrations of the International Space Station (ISS) using a quantum sensor containing ultra-cold atoms.

The study also documents the atoms exhibiting wave-like properties while in freefall in space for 150 milliseconds, the longest ever recorded.

This is the first time ultra-cool quantum sensors have been used in space. It is one of the most advanced technologies humans have ever invented to study tiny forces, vibrations, and minute changes in gravitational fields.

“ Space-based sensors that can measure gravity with high precision have a wide range of potential applications. For instance, they could reveal the composition of planets and moons in our solar system, because different materials have different densities that create subtle variations in gravity.” the NASA team notes .

This quantum technology can also contribute to the development of better and more accurate navigation technologies for aircraft and vessels on Earth.

The science behind the ultra-cool quantum sensor

The Cold Atom Lab is a research facility aboard the ISS. This lab allows NASA to study ultra-cold quantum gases and make precise measurements of fundamental physical properties, such as gravitational forces, atomic interactions, and quantum behavior.

Such measurements require temperatures and conditions that aren’t achievable on Earth. However, in the microgravity environment of space, they can observe these gases for over 10 seconds at temperatures below 100 picokelvins (−459.67 °F).

For the current study, the researchers used the atom interferometer, a type of quantum sensor that utilizes the wave-like behavior of ultra-cold atoms to measure changes in the gravitational field .

To measure vibrations of the ISS, the study authors first cooled the atoms of rubidium (an element) to -459.6 °F and then passed them through the interferometer.

Inside the sensor, “Due to its wave-like behavior, a single atom can simultaneously travel two physically separate paths. If gravity or other forces are acting on those waves, scientists can measure that influence by observing how the waves recombine and interact,” the NASA team said.

So when the atoms showed different motions and followed multiple paths at the same time, demonstrating quantum behavior , they created fringes — patterns containing information about minute changes in gravity and other physical factors.

The study authors examined these patterns and made precise measurements of the vibrations of the ISS. “This is the first time ultra-cold atoms have been employed to detect changes in the surrounding environment in space,” they said.

The power of quantum sensors

Ultra-cool quantum sensors can bring drastic improvements in numerous applications used on Earth and in space. For instance, they can make modern GPS and communication equipment more accurate and sensitive.

“Precise measurements of gravity (through quantum sensors) could offer insights into the nature of dark matter and dark energy, two major cosmological mysteries,” the researchers note.

Devices like atom interferometers also allow scientists to study the quantum nature of different materials in different environments. This could enhance our understanding of the quantum forces that drive the universe.

Moreover “Atom interferometry could be used to test Einstein’s theory of general relativity in new ways. This is the basic theory explaining the large-scale structure of our universe, and we know that there are aspects of the theory that we don’t understand correctly,” Cass Sacket, one of the study authors and principal investigator at CAL, said.

“This technology may help us fill in those gaps and give us a more complete picture of the reality we inhabit,” he added.

The study is published in the journal Nature Communications .