GPS killer? This quantum device “feels” moving like the brain – extending to the atomic level

Scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder University have built a quantum navigation device that reads acceleration like a fingerprint scanner, reading fingerprints.

Using atoms to cool to more than one billionth of absolute zero, their new interferometers can measure motion in three dimensions simultaneously – many experts believe it is impossible. Breakthroughs can revolutionize how submarines, spacecraft and autonomous vehicles navigate when GPS signals fail or are unavailable.

With traditional accelerometers tracking motion along a single axis, the quantum device captures all motion pictures in our three-dimensional world. These implications are far beyond navigation and may provide new tools for detecting gravitational waves, testing basic physics, and even finding dark matter.

Atomic motion detector

“Traditional atomic interferometers can only measure acceleration in a single dimension, but we live in a three-dimensional world,” explains Kendall Mehling, a graduate student in physics and co-author of the study, also published in Science Advances. “To know where I’m going and to know where I’ve been, I need to track my acceleration in all three dimensions.”

The device works by using Bose-Einstein condensates to create what researchers call “matter wave pools”, an exotic state of matter that it won in 2001 the Nobel Prizes by Cu Boulder physicists Carl Wieman and Eric Cornell. In this quantum realm, single atoms exist in ghostly breeding species, occupying multiple positions at the same time.

This is really striking: When atoms split and recombined, they create complex patterns of interference that serve as unique signatures for different types of motion. Think of it as each acceleration vector leaving a unique fingerprint in the quantum world.

Decode quantum fingerprints

The reason for setting this system is its complex reading mechanism. Traditional interferometers produce simple oscillating signals, but the quantum device generates what the researchers call a 49-channel output, which is actually a 7×7 momentum measurement grid that creates unique patterns for different acceleration vectors.

“We can decode fingerprints and extract the accelerations that atoms experience,” said Murray Holland, a physics professor and a researcher at Gilla who led the research team.

The team presented two different types of measurements: BLOCH oscillations that track motion over time, and Michelson interferometry that captures instantaneous acceleration snapshots. In one experiment, they successfully measured the applied acceleration of 2G (earth gravity) along both axes while achieving excellent accuracy.

Machine learning conforms to quantum physics

Building this device requires solving a very complex engineering problem. The team used six laser beams, each thinner than human hair, manipulating thousands of rubidium atoms with extraordinary precision. But it’s a twist – they can’t solve this puzzle with traditional trial and error methods.

Instead, they turned to artificial intelligence. The researchers trained machine learning algorithms to plan the complex laser control sequences needed to effectively split and recombinate atoms. This computational approach allows them to discover control protocols that human intuition alone may never find.

“The experimental equipment is very compact at the moment. Although we have 18 laser beams passing through a vacuum system containing our atomic cloud, the entire experiment is small enough that we can deploy in the field,” noted Catie Ledesma, a postdoctoral researcher for the team.

Beyond traditional navigation

The quantum method has several advantages over conventional accelerometers. Most importantly, atoms do not age or degrade like mechanical components.

“If you abandon classic sensors in different environments over the years, it will age and decay,” Merlin notes. “The springs in the clock change and meridian. The atoms don’t age.”

Currently, the device is thousands of times less speed than the Earth’s gravity, rather than competing with existing technology. But researchers see huge potential for improvement. They predict that with longer measurement time and refined engineering, sensitivity can reach technically relevant levels.

Even more interesting is that the system provides unprecedented programmability. Unlike hardware-based sensors that achieve a single purpose, the quantum device can be reconfigured through software to function as an accelerometer, gyroscope or gravity gauges as needed.

Bayesian Advantages

Perhaps most importantly, the team developed new data analysis techniques using Bayesian statistics to extract multiple parameters from a single measurement. Traditional interferometers require many repetitive experiments to establish interference fringes, but this quantum system can determine vector acceleration from a single snapshot.

The researchers demonstrated this ability by measuring the magnitude and direction of applied forces, showing that they can distinguish accelerations at the same intensity but in different directions. This multi-channel approach fundamentally changes how quantum sensors are used.

The vision of the future

NASA has invested $5.5 million through its Quantum Pathway Institute to advance the technology. These applications can be transformative – from navigation systems that function in GPS-limited environments to scientific tools that can detect the most subtle gravitational effects.

What makes this work particularly exciting is its potential scalability. The current device operates in only 460 microseconds, with a space footprint of only a few wavelengths. As the team extends measurement time and improves detection efficiency, they expect increased sensitivity.

“We are not sure of all possible consequences of this study because it can open a door,” the Netherlands reflected.

That door brings the future of quantum physics, not only helping us understand the fundamental nature of the universe, but it also guides us again and again, a kind of atomic fingerprint. For technologies that seemed impossible a few years ago, the quantum navigation revolution may be closer than we thought.

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