CU Boulder physicists have achieved the impossible: a quantum navigation device that measures motion in all three dimensions using atoms chilled near absolute zero—ushering in a new era of precision travel without GPS.
Key Points at a Glance
- New atom interferometer tracks acceleration in all three spatial dimensions
- Uses Bose-Einstein Condensates and laser light to measure motion quantumly
- Device could revolutionize navigation for submarines, spacecraft, and autonomous vehicles
- AI guides laser operations for unprecedented control of atomic behavior
In a lab at the University of Colorado Boulder, a table-sized device glows with tightly focused beams of light. But this is no ordinary setup—it’s a prototype for a new kind of quantum compass that can sense movement in three dimensions, not with electronics, but with atoms in a ghostly quantum state.
Researchers have built a novel atom interferometer, a tool long used in physics, but with a twist that sets a new bar in quantum sensing. This version can measure acceleration in all three directions at once—a feat many believed was unachievable. “To know where I’m going, I need to track acceleration in 3D,” says Kendall Mehling, a CU Boulder physicist and co-lead on the study. “And now we can.”
Published in Science Advances, the breakthrough is the work of CU Boulder’s Quantum Pathways Institute, supported by NASA’s $5.5 million grant. The team includes Mehling, postdoctoral researcher Catie LeDesma, and quantum theorist Murray Holland. Their mission: to design the navigation tech of tomorrow.
Traditional accelerometers use mechanical springs and electronics that wear down over time. Atoms, by contrast, don’t age. The CU Boulder team exploits this atomic permanence by cooling rubidium atoms to a few billionths of a degree above absolute zero—creating a Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC), a quantum fluid where particles overlap and behave as one.
Using hair-thin lasers, they “throw” packets of light into the BEC, splitting the atoms into quantum superpositions—where each atom exists in two places at once. These matter-wave ripples move in opposite directions. By decoding the interference pattern when they reunite, the device measures even the tiniest acceleration with quantum accuracy.
“Our BEC is like a pond, and we throw light-stone ripples in both directions,” says Holland. “Their interference tells us everything about how the atoms were accelerated.”
The real magic is in the AI. Controlling lasers for precise atomic motion is enormously complex. To solve this, the team trained a machine learning algorithm to optimize laser patterns—transforming the device from lab experiment to field-ready sensor.
Though today’s version detects accelerations many times weaker than Earth’s gravity, the potential is massive. Once refined, it could enable ultra-precise navigation in deep space, undersea, or GPS-denied environments. Cars and drones might one day navigate by atomic motion alone.
“This opens up a door we’re just beginning to peek through,” Holland says. As the field of quantum sensing surges forward, it’s clear: the future of motion tracking may be measured not by microchips—but by the eternal steadiness of atoms.
Source: CU Boulder Today
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