Low Frequency Gravitational Wave Detection With Ground Based Atom Interferometer Arrays

TL;DR

This paper proposes a novel ground-based atom interferometer array method to detect low-frequency gravitational waves below a few Hertz, effectively reducing Newtonian Noise and enhancing sensitivity.

Contribution

It introduces a correlated atom interferometer array strategy that significantly suppresses Newtonian Noise, enabling improved detection of low-frequency gravitational waves.

Findings

Achieves potential Newtonian Noise rejection of a factor of 2 with existing geometries.

Demonstrates possibility of over 10-fold Newtonian Noise suppression with dedicated configurations.

Strain sensitivities below 1×10⁻¹⁹/√Hz in 0.3-3 Hz band are feasible, with peak sensitivity at 2 Hz.

Abstract

We propose a new detection strategy for gravitational waves (GWs) below few Hertz based on a correlated array of atom interferometers (AIs). Our proposal allows to reduce the Newtonian Noise (NN) which limits all ground based GW detectors below few Hertz, including previous atom interferometry-based concepts. Using an array of long baseline AI gradiometers yields several estimations of the NN, whose effect can thus be reduced via statistical averaging. Considering the km baseline of current optical detectors, a NN rejection of factor 2 could be achieved, and tested with existing AI array geometries. Exploiting the correlation properties of the gravity acceleration noise, we show that a 10-fold or more NN rejection is possible with a dedicated configuration. Considering a conservative NN model and the current developments in cold atom technology, we show that strain sensitivities below $1\times 10^{-19}/ \sqrt{\text{Hz}}$ in the $ 0.3-3 \ \text{Hz}$ frequency band can be within reach, with a peak sensitivity of $3\times 10^{-23}/ \sqrt{\text{Hz}} $ at $2 \ \text{Hz}$. Our proposed configuration could extend the observation window of current detectors by a decade and fill the gap between ground-based and space-based instruments.