Cold-atom sources for the Matter-wave laser Interferometric Gravitation Antenna (MIGA)
Quentin Beaufils, Leonid A. Sidorenkov, Pierre Lebegue, Bertrand Venon, David Holleville, Laurent Volodimer, Michel Lours, Joseph Junca, X. Zou, Andréa Bertoldi, M. Prevedelli, Dylan O. Sabulsky, Philippe Bouyer, Arnaud Landragin, B. Canuel, Rémi Geiger
Abstract
The Matter-wave laser Interferometric Gravitation Antenna (MIGA) is an underground instrument using cold-atom interferometry to perform precision measurements of gravity gradients and strains. Following its installation at the low noise underground laboratory LSBB in the South-East of France, it will serve as a prototype for gravitational wave detectors with a horizontal baseline of 150 meters. Three spatially separated cold-atom interferometers will be driven by two common counter-propagating lasers to perform a measurement of the gravity gradient along this baseline. This article presents the cold-atom sources of MIGA, focusing on the design choices, the realization of the systems, the performances and the integration within the MIGA instrument.