Comprehensive In-orbit Performance Evaluation of Quantum Sensors Onboard Future Satellite Gravity Missions

Kurzfassung

Recent advances in cold atom interferometry (CAI) have paved the way for space applications of quantum accelerometers, a type of sensor that utilizes the principles of quantum mechanics to measure acceleration. These quantum accelerometers, whose level of stability is expected to increase dramatically with the longer interrogation times accessible in space, are proposed for future satellite gravity missions. They are particularly strong in providing long-term stable and precise measurements of non-gravitational accelerations. However, their limitations due to the low measurement rate and ambiguities in the raw sensor measurements demand the hybridization of quantum sensors with classical ones (e.g. electrostatic) with higher bandwidth. In this study, a comprehensive in-orbit model is developed for a Mach-Zehnder-type cold-atom accelerometer. Performance tests are realized under different assumptions, and the impact of various sources of errors on instrument stability is evaluated. A roadmap for improvements in atom interferometry is provided that would maximize the performance of future CAI accelerometers, considering their technical capabilities. Moreover, we perform a Kalman-filter-based hybridization simulation by considering the full impact of rotation, gravity gradient, and self-gravity on the instrument. Finally, we investigate the impact of implementing a hybrid accelerometer onboard a future gravity mission on the gravity solution and the produced global gravity field maps.