Weak interactions between atoms in a ring allow an accelerometer to break a fundamental limit of measurement precision.
Most sensors are limited by the Fourier bound, a rule that says you cannot be more precise than a certain mathematical threshold. By introducing slight interactions between atoms in a ring, this new device surpasses that limit by a factor of 100. It turns the noise of particle collisions into a tool for better sensing. This discovery means we can build navigation systems that are significantly more accurate than anything currently available. It proves that some hard limits in physics are actually just waiting for a clever workaround.
Enhancing supercurrent-based inertial sensing via interactions in atomtronic angular accelerometers
arXiv · 2605.02048
We theoretically investigate supercurrents of ultracold atoms in angularly ac-shaken ring lattices subjected to external rotation. Our results demonstrate how these supercurrents can be harnessed for the development of high-precision atomtronic angular accelerometers. Using both analytical and numerical approaches within the Bose-Hubbard model framework, we demonstrate that a significant net atomic current arises when the lattice driving frequency is tuned to an integer fraction of the Bloch fre