Ultrasensitive Measurements of Forces Using Laser-Cooled Atoms

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Precise knowledge of the basic forces that govern and shape our universe is of paramount importance not only for fundamental science, but also for technological breakthroughs. This proposal seeks operational funding for a broad research program utilizing cold atoms for the precision measurements of a variety of basic forces. The main scientific goals of the proposal are: precision measurement of the gravitational acceleration g, precision measurement of the strength of the electromagnetic force (the fine-structure constant) and the precision measurement of the magnetic properties of atoms (g-factor ratios). These experiments have recently achieved benchmarks that suggest that high impact precision studies are realizable in the near future. In particular, a unique, cold atom interferometer (AI) will be developed for measurements of g. This will enable the current measurement precision of 125 parts per billion (ppb) to reach internationally competitive levels of 1 ppb. This initiative is supported by an industrial partner who is the leading manufacturer of commercial gravimeters, devices that measure g for widespread applications such as oil and mineral prospecting, seismic monitoring and correction of tidal charts. The same AI recently demonstrated measurement time scales comparable to the widely known Raman AIs and realized a precision of 37 ppb in measurements of the atomic recoil frequency, a quantity that is related to the atomic fine-structure constant, a coupling parameter that defines the strength of light-matter interactions. We propose to reduce systematic effects and realize a precision of ~1 ppb. The applicant's group has recently made the most sensitive measurement of a particular class of magnetic interactions. Using a refined experiment we propose to further improve the precision and avoid systematic effects. The main commercial and technological outcomes include: 1) Realization of a new generation of gravimeters based on auto-locked lasers developed by the applicant and new techniques for calibrating commercial gravimeters 2) Development of Canada's first rubidium-based atomic clock 3) Development of auto-locked lasers as LIDAR transmitters for pollution monitoring and exploration of planetary atmospheres.