Concepedia

Gravity measurements below 10−9 g with a transportable absolute quantum gravimeter

Vincent Ménoret, Pierre Vermeulen, Nicolas Le Moigne, Sylvain Bonvalot, Philippe Bouyer, Arnaud Landragin, Bruno Desruelle

Scientific Reports · 2018 · 347 citations · 39 references

DOI Full text

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TL;DR

Gravimetry, essential for mapping subsurface mass, has evolved over 50 years, with atom‑interferometry quantum gravimeters offering top‑level sensitivity, stability, and accuracy, yet remaining confined to laboratories due to operational complexity and environmental sensitivity. We present a novel, transportable quantum gravimeter that non‑specialists can operate in real‑world settings to continuously measure absolute gravitational acceleration with long‑term stability better than 10 nm s⁻² (1 μGal). The device incorporates several technological innovations that keep it lightweight and compact while enabling high‑precision measurements, and it was rigorously characterized and its stability assessed during a month‑long field campaign. During the month‑long campaign, the gravimeter maintained a long‑term stability below 10 nm s⁻² (1 μGal), demonstrating its suitability for field applications.

Abstract

Gravimetry is a well-established technique for the determination of sub-surface mass distribution needed in several fields of geoscience, and various types of gravimeters have been developed over the last 50 years. Among them, quantum gravimeters based on atom interferometry have shown top-level performance in terms of sensitivity, long-term stability and accuracy. Nevertheless, they have remained confined to laboratories due to their complex operation and high sensitivity to the external environment. Here we report on a novel, transportable, quantum gravimeter that can be operated under real world conditions by non-specialists, and measure the absolute gravitational acceleration continuously with a long-term stability below 10~nm.s$^{-2}$ (1~$\mu$Gal). It features several technological innovations that allow for high-precision gravity measurements, while keeping the instrument light and small enough for field measurements. The instrument was characterized in detail and its stability was evaluated during a month-long measurement campaign.