QUANTUM GRAVIMETRY

The state of the art: Earth-bound ultra-precision absolute gravimeter. Quantum interferometry makes use of the coherence of superposition states. In contrast to light, when the interference objective is cold atomic cloud, strong coupling with environment due to large polarizability, magnetic moment and scattering cross section yields today’s highest metrological sensitivity and precision.

Agriculture and Food Management

Water Management

The availability of useable water, both surface water and groundwater, is strategically important to all levels of army enterprises. Successful execution of military operation is related to supplying sufficient water to troops and animals engaged in the field which concerns water rights of stakeholders and new detection technology to scheme more accurate water management.

Quantum Tech: Laser-cooled rubidium-85 atoms are dropped in high vacuum while two-photon Raman pulses split, state switch, and recombine the atomic cloud. At the final viewport, the wavefunctions of two separate paths interfere and the populations in the ground and meta-stable ground states are measured. After several identical experiments, the absolute g-value is statistical extracted and constantly monitored where the changes in g-value refer to the water level fluctuation. The precision required to secure the future of national agriculture is around 5×10^-8 of the magnitude of g-value.

Direct Societal Impact: Dynamic of ground and underground water levels, global water table (LEO), drinking water management, army water security, manage short-term water conflict and peacekeeping.

Collateral Advantages: Reduce poverty, raise incomes, and improve food security, long-term water management; collaboration among academics, army engineer hydrologic engineering, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.

Alternative Quantum Technology: –

Aided System: –

Civil Engineering Applications

Minimal Utility Street Works

Gravitational sensing enables unprecedented detail of subsurface imaging. Precise positioning of underground assets would cut down the cost of road occupation, and hence traffic delays due to utility street works in Thailand equivalent to billions of USD or million days of works a year.

Quantum Tech: Laser-cooled rubidium-85 atoms are dropped in high vacuum while two-photon Raman pulses split, state switch, and recombine the atomic cloud. At the final viewport, the wavefunctions of two separate paths interfere and the populations in the ground and meta-stable ground states are measured. After several identical experiments, the absolute g-value is statistical extracted and constantly monitored where the changes in g-value refer to the water level fluctuation. The precision required to see what lies below is around 1×10^-7 of the magnitude of g-value.

Direct Societal Impact: Sinkholes, water pipeline networks, underground power cables, mineshafts.

Collateral Advantages: Foreseeing the subsurface life-threatening hazards, collaboration between academics and the Ministry of Transport.

Alternative Quantum Technology: –

Aided System: –

Construction Sites and Excavations

Quantum Tech: Laser-cooled rubidium-85 atoms are dropped in high vacuum while two-photon Raman pulses split, state switch, and recombine the atomic cloud. At the final viewport, the wavefunctions of two separate paths interfere and the populations in the ground and meta-stable ground states are measured. After several identical experiments, the absolute g-value is statistical extracted and constantly monitored where the changes in g-value refer to the water level fluctuation. The precision required for our cost-effective and highly accurate underground surveying is around 1×10^-7 of the magnitude of g-value.

Direct Societal Impact: Reduce project cost, overruns, and risks.

Collateral Advantages: Collaboration between academics and the Ministry of Transport.

Alternative Quantum Technology: –

Aided System: –

Geophysical Applications

Global Mapping with Airborne Gravity Gradiometer

Quantum Tech: Laser-cooled rubidium-85 atoms are shot up for a free fall in high vacuum while two-photon Raman pulses split, state switch, and recombine the atomic cloud. At the final viewport, the wavefunctions of two separate paths interfere and the populations in the ground and meta-stable ground states are measured. After several identical experiments, the absolute g-value is statistical extracted and constantly monitored where the changes in g-value refer to the water level fluctuation. The precision required for gravitational sensing to provide the “Google Map” of things underneathis around 2×10-9 of the magnitude of g-value.

Direct Societal Impact: “Google Map” of things underneath at fine detail.

Collateral Advantages: Dynamically measuring and understanding the Earth’s geometric shape, orientation in space, and gravity field, global geodetic observation network.

Alternative Quantum Technology: –

Aided System: –

*Y. Bidel, et al., Absolute airborne gravimetry with a cold atom sensor,” J Geod 94, 20 (2020).

Natural Disaster Relief

Quantum Tech: All-optical Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) made from laser-cooled rubidium-85 atoms are dropped in high vacuum while two-photon Raman pulses split, state switch, and recombine the atomic cloud. At the final viewport, the wavefunctions of two separate paths interfere and the populations in the ground and meta-stable ground states are measured. After several identical experiments, the absolute g-value is statistical extracted and constantly monitored where the changes in g-value refer to the water level fluctuation. The precision required to feed into the climate prediction models with ten-kilometer resolution is around 1×10^-9 of the magnitude of g-value. Satellite payload design for Low Earth Orbit (<2,000 km) missions is being planned.

Direct Societal Impact: Flood mitigation, imminent earthquakes prediction, and volcanic activity.

Collateral Advantages: Improving insurance risk models, minimizing impact of disasters.

Alternative Quantum Technology: Collaboration between academics and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.

Aided System: –

Ocean Tide Loading / Self-Attraction Displacements

At any moment, the Earth’s mass redistributions due to constantly moving sea water causes periodic loading of the ocean bottom. The deformation the Earth under such load called the ocean tide loading affects ocean navigation, distribution logistics and ocean transport.

Quantum Tech: Laser-cooled rubidium-85 atoms are dropped in high vacuum while two-photon Raman pulses split, state switch, and recombine the atomic cloud. At the final viewport, the wavefunctions of two separate paths interfere and the populations in the ground and meta-stable ground states are measured. After several identical experiments, the absolute g-value is statistical extracted and constantly monitored where the changes in g-value refer to the water level fluctuation. The precision required to probe the deflection of the deformable seabed and redistribution of vicinity ocean mass better than 0.01 ppm is around 1×10^-8 of the magnitude of g-value.

Direct Societal Impact: Ocean navigation, distribution logistics, ocean transport.

Collateral Advantages: –

Alternative Quantum Technology: –

Aided System: –

Defense and Security Applications

Stealth Technology Terminus

Quantum super sensor exploits manifold internal degrees of freedom of neutral atoms to simultaneously measure various physical quantities. Here the BEC gravimeter and magnetometer are integrated with the state of the art to sense the anomalies in the Earth’s gravity and magnetic fields. The information gained determines an invasion of massive and/or magnetic stealth mobile machinery without sending signal.

Quantum Tech: All-optical Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) made from laser-cooled rubidium-85 atoms are dropped in high vacuum while two-photon Raman pulses split, state switch, and recombine the atomic cloud. At the final viewport, the wavefunctions of two separate paths interfere and the populations in the ground and meta-stable ground states are measured. After several identical experiments, the absolute g-value is statistical extracted and constantly monitored where the changes in g-value refer to the water level fluctuation. The precision required to detect a stealth submarine (50-50,000 tons) at a distance 10km away is less than 1×10^-6 of the magnitude of g-value. The compatible magnetometry survey at sub-femtotesla of sensitivity would greatly improve the resolution. Satellite payload design for Low Earth Orbit (<2,000 km) missions is being planned.

Direct Societal Impact: Detecting stealth aircrafts, submarines, tanks, military maneuvering, and deployment.

Collateral Advantages: Collaboration between academics and intelligence community.

Alternative Quantum Technology: Quantum radar / lidar.

Aided System: –

Border Portal Monitoring

Quantum Tech: Laser-cooled rubidium-85 atoms are launched to form an atomic fountain in high vacuum while two-photon stimulated Raman pulses split, state switch, and recombine the atomic cloud. At the final viewport, the wavefunctions of two separate paths interfere and the populations in the two hyperfine ground states are measured. After several identical experiments, the absolute g-value is statistical extracted and constantly monitored where the changes in g-value refer to the crowd moving through a hidden underground portal. The precision required for gravitational sensing to enhance existing anti-immigration technology without imposing costly delays is around 1×10-9 of the magnitude of g-value.

Direct Societal Impact: Illegal transportations, national border security.

Collateral Advantages: Collaboration between academics and intelligence community.

Alternative Quantum Technology: –

Aided System: –

Sustainable Energy & Fuels

Petroleum and Mineral Exploration

Our novel gravimeter would potentially allow oil and natural gas surveys to be performed in previously unreachable terrains, i.e., swamp, deep valley, dense forest, and particularly the terrestrial and onshore areas where with today’s technology the petroleum was believed to be completely depleted. The significant improvements of the sensitivity over commercially available geological approaches should minimize the risk of drilling failure and reduce the capital concerning deep-sea exploratory drilling, a formidable engineering challenge, by a factor of 10. To be able to see 100 kg of oil displacing salt at 10 km beneath the Earth’s surface, such valuable innovativeness on precision oil and gas surveys could have put the world in better balance on petroleum energy reserve.

Quantum Tech: Laser-cooled rubidium-85 atoms are launched to form an atomic fountain in high vacuum while two-photon stimulated Raman pulses split, state switch, and recombine the atomic cloud. At the final viewport, the wavefunctions of two separate paths interfere and the populations in the two hyperfine ground states are measured. After several identical experiments, the absolute g-value is statistical extracted and constantly monitored. The changes in g-value together with 2D magnetic and 3D seismic data reveal the intercalation of oil at the resolution better than 100kg at 10km depth. The precision required for gravitational sensing to geologically survey the unreachable terrains is around 1×10^-9 of the magnitude of g-value.

Direct Societal Impact: Small and shallow petroleum deposits in land, risk of drilling failure.

Collateral Advantages: Gravity gradient above surface, elevation variation of 1 cm, solid Earth tides (Moon / Sun), construction sites, excavations, ocean loading, ground water level, air mass flow, polar motion.

Alternative Quantum Technology: –

Aided System: –

Oil-Water Ratio Monitoring

The ability to watch the water level inside the oil well plays a key role of condition-based monitoring using the point of failure (PF) curve. No other existing commercial device can do the job!

Quantum Tech: Laser-cooled rubidium-85 atoms are launched to form an atomic fountain in high vacuum while two-photon stimulated Raman pulses split, state switch, and recombine the atomic cloud. At the final viewport, the wavefunctions of two separate paths interfere and the populations in the two hyperfine ground states are measured. After several identical experiments, the absolute g-value is statistical extracted and constantly monitored. The changes in g-value together refer to level of oil-water mixture in the oil well. The precision required for gravitational sensing to watch the water level inside the oil well in real time is around 1×10^-9 of the magnitude of g-value.

Direct Societal Impact: Oil extraction and refinery.

Collateral Advantages: Gravity gradient above surface, elevation variation of 1 cm, solid Earth tides (Moon / Sun), construction sites, excavations, ocean loading, ground water level, air mass flow, polar motion.

Alternative Quantum Technology: –

Aided System: –