Fiber-Optic-Gyroscope Measurements Close to Rotating Liquid Helium

TL;DR

This study investigates anomalous signals from fiber-optic gyroscopes near rotating liquid helium, suggesting a possible link to the helium itself, with new experimental setups providing preliminary insights into the phenomenon.

Contribution

The paper introduces a new cryostat experiment allowing precise measurements of gyroscope signals near rotating liquid helium, advancing understanding of the observed anomalies.

Findings

Anomalous signals similar to previous results were observed.

Sign of the signals changed in the new setup.

Measurement resolution was limited due to lower angular velocities.

Abstract

We previously reported anomalous fiber-optic gyroscope signals observed above rotating rings at temperatures close to liquid helium. Our results suggested that the liquid helium itself may be the source of our observed phenomenon. We constructed a new cryostat experiment that allows rotating a large quantity of liquid helium together with a superconducting niobium tube. The facility is built in such a way that our gyroscope can be placed directly in the center of rotation along the axis; however, the cryostat is built around the gyroscope to allow measuring without interference of helium liquid or gas. An anomalous signal was found of similar value compared to our previous measurements with a changed sign. As this measurement was done at a different location (center position) with respect to our old setup (top position), first hints for a possible field distribution of this phenomenon can be made. However, due to lower angular velocities used in this new setup so far, our measurement resolution was close to three times the resolution of our gyroscope and hence our data represent work in progress.