Supersolid-Based Gravimeter in a Ring Cavity

Area of Science:

• Quantum optics
• Condensed matter physics
• Precision measurement

Background:

• Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) exhibit unique quantum phenomena.
• Optical ring cavities are sensitive to phase shifts.
• Supersolid phases offer novel light-matter interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel composite light-matter interferometer for measuring gravitational acceleration.
• To investigate the sensitivity and robustness of the proposed gravimeter.
• To explore the potential of supersolid BECs in precision sensing.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a driven Bose-Einstein condensate in a supersolidlike phase.
• Coupling the condensate to counterpropagating electromagnetic modes in an optical ring cavity.
• Monitoring the phase evolution of cavity output fields to detect gravitational effects.

Main Results:

• The supersolid condensate's motion under gravity alters the optical potential and relative phase of cavity fields.
• The gravimeter exhibits Heisenberg-like scaling with atom number, enhancing sensitivity.
• The system demonstrates robustness against photon losses due to phase insensitivity.

Conclusions:

• A novel, highly sensitive, and robust gravimeter based on light-matter interaction in a supersolid BEC is proposed.
• The device offers potential for precision measurements of gravitational acceleration.
• Future experiments could achieve relative sensitivities of 10^-10 to 10^-8.