Search for high-frequency gravitational waves with Rydberg atoms

TL;DR

This paper proposes a novel method for detecting high-frequency gravitational waves using Rydberg atoms, leveraging their electric field sensitivity and superheterodyne detection to achieve potential detection at GHz frequencies.

Contribution

The study introduces a new high-frequency GW detector design based on Rydberg atoms and demonstrates its potential sensitivity at GHz frequencies, which is a novel approach.

Findings

Detects GWs at 4.2 GHz frequency.

Achieves sensitivity to GW amplitudes around 10^{-20}.

Utilizes superheterodyne detection to improve electric field measurement.

Abstract

We propose high-frequency gravitational wave (GW) detectors with Rydberg atoms. Rydberg atoms are ultra-sensitive detectors of electric fields. By setting up a constant magnetic field, a weak electric field is generated upon the arrival of GWs. The weak electric field signal is then detected by an electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in the system of the Rydberg atoms. Recently, the minimum detectable electric field with the Rydberg atoms is further improved by employing superheterodyne detection method. Hence, even the weak signal generated by GWs turns out to be detectable. We calculate the amplitude of Rabi frequency of the Rydberg atoms induced by the GWs and show that the sensitivity of the Rydberg atoms becomes maximum when the size of the Rydberg atoms is close to the wavelength of GWs. We evaluate the minimum detectable amplitude of GWs with Rubidium Rydberg atoms and find that the detector can probe GWs with a frequency $f=4.2$ GHz and an amplitude around $10^{-20}$.