BECCAL - The Bose-Einstein Condensate and Cold Atom Laboratory

Kurzfassung

The Bose-Einstein Condensate and Cold Atom Laboratory (BECCAL), a collaboration between NASA and DLR, is a multi-user and multi-purpose facility aboard the International Space Station (ISS). BECCAL acts as a pathfinder mission for developing technology and concepts for future quantum sensors based on matter-wave interferometry for earth observation and navigation. The compact and robust design of the payload also promises prospects for the mobile use of quantum sensors on Earth as well as other fields of quantum technology. Additionally, it will offer a wide variety of experiments on fundamental physics using ultracold atoms and Bose-Einstein condensates. The permanent microgravity environment on the ISS enables extended times of free fall and observation, as well as repeatability for statistical analysis. The BECCAL payload consists of three subsystems - the physics package, the laser system and the control electronics. Our contribution focuses on the physics package, where the atomic ensembles are created, manipulated and detected. We report on its capabilities and outline possible experiments with BECCAL. The BECCAL payload is designed and constructed by the BECCAL Collaboration comprising the DLR Institute of Quantum Technology, the DLR Institute for Satellite Geodesy and Inertial Sensing, the DLR Institute for Software Technology, the Leibniz Universität Hannover, the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, the Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, the Ferdinand Braun Institut für Höchstfrequenztechnik, the Universität Bremen, the University of Hamburg, the Universität Ulm, and OHB System AG, with funding support by the DLR Space Agency.