Rydberg atom interferometry for antimatter gravity

用于反物质引力的里德伯原子干涉仪

• 批准号: 2579790
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University College London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2021 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2579790
• 关键词: Rydberg; atom; interferometry; antimatter; gravity

The quantum behaviour of atoms can be exploited to perform matter wave interferometry, whereby single atoms are prepared in a superposition of two different states and then spatially separated to follow two different classical paths before being recombined to interfere. Atom interferometry has applications including the sensing and measurement of fields or accelerations, for example due to gravity. It is often performed with ground state atoms. However for exotic atoms with short lifetimes in the ground state, such as positronium (a bound state of an electron and a positron), highly excited Rydberg states with longer lifetimes offer a potential solution to overcome the limitations to measurement precision imposed by short interrogation times. This project aims build on current initial setups at UCL to realise a full loop atom interferometer with Rydberg helium atoms for the first time, with a view to extending this to Rydberg positronium to investigate the behaviour of antimatter under gravity, and whether this differs from matter. The asymmetry between matter and antimatter in the Universe remains an open question in the standard model of particle physics, with quantum technologies providing new opportunities to address such fundamental physics questions.

可以利用原子的量子行为来进行物质波干涉测量，从而在两个不同状态的叠加中制备单个原子，然后在空间上分离以遵循两个不同的经典路径，然后重新组合以进行干涉。原子干涉测量法具有包括感测和测量例如由于重力引起的场或加速度的应用。它通常是用基态原子进行的。然而，对于在基态具有短寿命的奇异原子，例如正电子素（电子和正电子的结合态），具有较长寿命的高激发里德堡态提供了一种潜在的解决方案，以克服短询问时间对测量精度的限制。该项目旨在建立在UCL当前的初始设置基础上，首次实现Rydberg氦原子的全环原子干涉仪，以期将其扩展到Rydberg正电子素，以研究反物质在重力下的行为，以及这是否与物质不同。在粒子物理学的标准模型中，宇宙中物质和反物质之间的不对称性仍然是一个悬而未决的问题，量子技术为解决这些基本物理问题提供了新的机会。