Realization of cold atom gyroscope in space

TL;DR

This paper reports the first space-based cold atom gyroscope demonstration on the China Space Station, achieving high-precision rotation measurements and paving the way for advanced space navigation and physics research.

Contribution

It presents the first realization of a cold atom gyroscope in space, demonstrating successful interference fringes and high-precision rotation measurements in orbit.

Findings

Achieved a rotation measurement resolution of 50*10^-6 rad/s per shot.

Measured rotation rate of (-1142±29)*10^-6 rad/s, consistent with classical gyroscope.

Successfully compensated for space station's dynamic rotation using a piezoelectric mirror.

Abstract

High-precision gyroscopes in space are essential for fundamental physics research and navigation. Due to its potential high precision, the cold atom gyroscope is expected to be the next generation of gyroscopes in space. Here, we report the first realization of a cold atom gyroscope, which was demonstrated by the atom interferometer installed in the China Space Station (CSS) as a payload. By compensating for CSS's high dynamic rotation rate using a built-in piezoelectric mirror, spatial interference fringes in the interferometer are successfully obtained. Then, the optimized ratio of the Raman laser's angles is derived, the coefficients of the piezoelectric mirror are self-calibrated in orbit, and various systemic effects are corrected. We achieve a rotation measurement resolution of 50*10^-6 rad/s for a single shot and 17*10^-6 rad/s for an average number of 32. The measured rotation is (-1142+/-29)*10^-6 rad/s and is compatible with that recorded by the classical gyroscope of the CSS. This study paves the way for developing high-precision cold atom gyroscopes in space.