Abstract
Light-pulse atom interferometers constitute powerful quantum sensors for inertial forces. They are based on delocalised spatial superpositions and the combination with internal transitions directly links them to atomic clocks. Since classical tests of the gravitational redshift are based on a comparison of two clocks localised at different positions under gravity, it is promising to explore whether the aforementioned interferometers constitute a competitive alternative for tests of general relativity. Here we present a specific geometry which together with state transitions leads to a scheme that is concurrently sensitive to both violations of the universality of free fall and gravitational redshift, two premises of general relativity. The proposed interferometer does not rely on a superposition of internal states, but merely on transitions between them, and therefore generalises the concept of physical atomic clocks and quantum-clock interferometry. An experimental realisation seems feasible with already demonstrated techniques in state-of-the-art facilities.
Highlights
The phenomenal advance in accuracy of atomic light-pulse interferometers over the last decades has led to highprecision applications in gravimetry [1,2] and gradiometry [3,4], and allows for probes of fundamental physics such as through measurements of the fine-structure constant to constrain Standard-Model extensions [5,6,7], gravitational wave detection [8], or tests of the universality of free fall [9,10,11,12,13]
Since the universality of free fall (UFF) and the universality of gravitational redshift (UGR) form the foundations of general relativity, their violation would directly hint toward new unknown physics
While the former has been tested with lightpulse atom interferometers for two different atomic species to the 10−12 level [13], interferometry based on clocks as input [14] is insensitive to UGR violations [15] as parametrized below
Summary
The phenomenal advance in accuracy of atomic light-pulse interferometers over the last decades has led to highprecision applications in gravimetry [1,2] and gradiometry [3,4], and allows for probes of fundamental physics such as through measurements of the fine-structure constant to constrain Standard-Model extensions [5,6,7], gravitational wave detection [8], or tests of the universality of free fall [9,10,11,12,13]. Since the universality of free fall (UFF) and the universality of gravitational redshift (UGR) form the foundations of general relativity, their violation would directly hint toward new unknown physics. While the former has been tested with lightpulse atom interferometers for two different atomic species to the 10−12 level [13], interferometry based on clocks as input [14] is insensitive to UGR violations [15] as parametrized below. Whereas redshift sensitivity may arise from the initialization of a quantum clock during the interferometer sequence [16], we show that a superposition of internal states that constitutes a clock is not necessary.
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