Ultracold atom interferometry in space

Understand

Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) in free fall constitute a promising source for space-borne matter-wave interferometry.

• Indeed, BECs enjoy a slowly expanding wave function, display a large spatial coherence and can be engineered and probed by optical techniques.
• On a sounding rocket, we explore matter-wave fringes of multiple spinor components of a BEC released in free fall employing light-pulses to drive Bragg processes and induce phase imprinting.
• The prevailing microgravity played a crucial role in the observation of these interferences which not only reveal the spatial coherence of the condensates but also allow us to measure differential forces.