Quantum gravity gradiometry for future mass change science
B. Stray1, X. Bosch-Lluis1, R. Thompson1, C. Okino1, N. Yu1, N. Lay1, B. Muirhead1, J. Hyon1, H. Leopardi2, P. Brereton2, A. Mylapore2, B. Loomis2, S. Luthcke2, P. Ghuman2, S. Bettadpur3, M.D. Lachmann4, T. Stolz4, C. Kuehl4, D. Weise7, H. Ahlers5, C. Schubert5, A. Bawamia6 and S.-W. Chiow1
Published in:
EPJ Quantum Technol., vol. 12, art. 35, doi:10.1140/epjqt/s40507-025-00338-1 (2025).
Abstract:
A quantum gravity gradiometer in a low Earth orbit, operating in a cross-track configuration, could be a viable single-spacecraft measurement instrument to provide mass change data for Earth observation, at comparable or better resolutions to existing maps generated by GRACE-FO. To reach the sensitivity for these science-grade measurements, many parts of the cold-atom interferometer need to be operating at, or beyond, state-of-the-art performance. In order to raise the maturity of the technology of the cold-atom gradiometer and determine the feasibility of a science-grade instrument, a pathfinder technology demonstration platform is funded. The requirements and a notional design for such a pathfinder and the outstanding challenges for science-grade instruments are presented.
1 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, 91109 CA, USA
2 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, 20771 MD, USA
3 Center for Space Research, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, 78759 TX, USA
4 Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Taufkirchen, 82024, Germany
5 German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute for Satellite Geodesy and Inertial Sensing, 30167, Hannover, Germany
6 Ferdinand-Braun-Institut gGmbH, 12489, Berlin, Germany
7 Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Immenstaad am Bodensee, 88090, Germany
Keywords:
Quantum sensing; Gravity; Geodesy; Quantum gravity gradiometer; Atom interferometry
© The Author(s) 2025.
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