Miniaturized lab system for future cold atom experiments in microgravity

TL;DR

This paper describes a compact, integrated cold atom system designed for microgravity experiments, enabling long-duration atomic cloud evolution and high-precision measurements in space-like environments.

Contribution

It introduces a miniaturized, fully integrated cold atom setup capable of operating in microgravity, including laser systems, vacuum chamber, and cooling/trapping mechanisms.

Findings

System successfully created cold Rb ensemble in microgravity

Demonstrated functionality of optical dipole trap in space environment

Achieved ultra-high vacuum and cooling in a compact form factor

Abstract

We present the technical realization of a compact system for performing experiments with cold $^{87}{\text{Rb}}$ and $^{39}{\text{K}}$ atoms in microgravity in the future. The whole system fits into a capsule to be used in the drop tower Bremen. One of the advantages of a microgravity environment is long time evolution of atomic clouds which yields higher sensitivities in atom interferometer measurements. We give a full description of the system containing an experimental chamber with ultra-high vacuum conditions, miniaturized laser systems, a high-power thulium-doped fiber laser, the electronics and the power management. In a two-stage magneto-optical trap atoms should be cooled to the low $\mu$K regime. The thulium-doped fiber laser will create an optical dipole trap which will allow further cooling to sub-$\mu$K temperatures. The presented system fulfills the demanding requirements on size and power management for cold atom experiments on a microgravity platform, especially with respect to the use of an optical dipole trap. A first test in microgravity, including the creation of a cold Rb ensemble, shows the functionality of the system.