Laser and stabilization package for AION

The Atom Interferometric Observatory and Network (AION) is a proposed research infrastructure for studies of dark matter and gravitational waves from cosmological and astrophysical sources in the highly relevant but currently inaccessible mid-frequency band. It will develop and demonstrate the necessary deployable and scalable quantum technology by constructing and operating 10m- and 100m-scale instruments, paving the way for a future km-scale facility as detailed in L. Badurina et al. JCAP 05(2020), 011 (2020).

This proposal for the Capital Call 2022 is in direct support of the AION project, which was funded originally as part of the QTFP programme and is now considered to be a core STFC programme. AION also has strong direct connections to the MAGIS programme in the US.

The equipment applied for in this proposal will be essential for developing the novel cold atom quantum technology required by the Atom Interferometry Observatory and Network (AION) project to (a) stabilise the initial atomic cloud position and velocity, (b) upgrade the transport and atom optics techniques using a high-power 532nm laser and increase the resilience of the main instrument, and (c) enhance the matter-wave interferometry by auxiliary optical interferometry. The developed technologies will be crucial not only for AION but for all future large-scale atom interferometers.

STFC references: Grant Title: AION: A UK Atom Interferometer Observatory and Network Grant Title: Differential atom interferometry and velocity selection using the clock transition of strontium atoms for AION