The space cold atom interferometer for testing the equivalence principle in the China Space Station

Meng He; Xi Chen; Jie Fang; Qunfeng Chen; Huanyao Sun; Yibo Wang; Jiaqi Zhong; Lin Zhou; Chuan He; Jinting Li; Danfang Zhang; Guiguo Ge; Wenzhang Wang; Yang Zhou; Xiao Li; Xiaowei Zhang; Lei Qin; Zhiyong Chen; Rundong Xu; Yan Wang; Zongyuan Xiong; Junjie Jiang; Zhendi Cai; Kuo Li; Guo Zheng; Weihua Peng; Jin Wang; Mingsheng Zhan

doi:10.1038/s41526-023-00306-y

The space cold atom interferometer for testing the equivalence principle in the China Space Station

NPJ Microgravity. 2023 Jul 28;9(1):58. doi: 10.1038/s41526-023-00306-y.

Authors

Meng He^{1

2}, Xi Chen³, Jie Fang¹, Qunfeng Chen¹, Huanyao Sun¹, Yibo Wang¹, Jiaqi Zhong^{1

4}, Lin Zhou^{1

4}, Chuan He¹, Jinting Li^{1

2}, Danfang Zhang^{1

2}, Guiguo Ge^{1

2}, Wenzhang Wang^{1

2}, Yang Zhou^{1

2}, Xiao Li¹, Xiaowei Zhang¹, Lei Qin¹, Zhiyong Chen¹, Rundong Xu¹, Yan Wang¹, Zongyuan Xiong¹, Junjie Jiang^{1

2}, Zhendi Cai^{1

2}, Kuo Li⁵, Guo Zheng⁵, Weihua Peng⁵, Jin Wang^{6

7

8}, Mingsheng Zhan^{9

10

11}

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China.
² University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China. chenxi@apm.ac.cn.
⁴ Hefei National Laboratory, Hefei, 230094, China.
⁵ Wuhan Zmvision Technology Co., Ltd., Wuhan, 430070, China.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China. wangjin@apm.ac.cn.
⁷ Hefei National Laboratory, Hefei, 230094, China. wangjin@apm.ac.cn.
⁸ Wuhan Institute of Quantum Technology, Wuhan, 430206, China. wangjin@apm.ac.cn.
⁹ State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China. mszhan@apm.ac.cn.
¹⁰ Hefei National Laboratory, Hefei, 230094, China. mszhan@apm.ac.cn.
¹¹ Wuhan Institute of Quantum Technology, Wuhan, 430206, China. mszhan@apm.ac.cn.

Abstract

The precision of the weak equivalence principle (WEP) test using atom interferometers (AIs) is expected to be extremely high in microgravity environment. The microgravity scientific laboratory cabinet (MSLC) in the China Space Station (CSS) can provide a higher-level microgravity than the CSS itself, which provides a good experimental environment for scientific experiments that require high microgravity. We designed and realized a payload of a dual-species cold rubidium atom interferometer. The payload is highly integrated and has a size of [Formula: see text]. It will be installed in the MSLC to carry out high-precision WEP test experiment. In this article, we introduce the constraints and guidelines of the payload design, the compositions and functions of the scientific payload, the expected test precision in space, and some results of the ground test experiments.

Abstract

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