- Physical Review Journals
All JournalsPhysics Magazine

Physical Review Research

Reuse & Permissions

It is not necessary to obtain permission to reuse this article or its components as it is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI are maintained. Please note that some figures may have been included with permission from other third parties. It is your responsibility to obtain the proper permission from the rights holder directly for these figures.

Export citation

Export citation

Choose format for download:

Download Citation
  • Editors' Suggestion
  • Open Access

Opportunities for gravitational wave physics at the South Pole

C. A. Argüelles1,*, M. DuVernois2, P. W. Graham3, T. Kovachy4, and J. Mitchell5

  • *Contact author: carguelles@g.harvard.edu
PDF

Phys. Rev. Research 8, 043111 – Published 30 October, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/zdw9-h75h

Abstract

Atom interferometers represent a promising approach for gravitational wave detection in the decihertz frequency band, complementary to existing light-based detectors. The South Pole offers unique advantages for such experiments: exceptionally low seismic noise, established infrastructure for large scientific projects, and a location that strengthens gravitational wave source localization through global triangulation. Here, we discuss the scientific case and practical considerations for deploying a long-baseline atom interferometer at the South Pole, which has the potential to expand the global network of gravitational wave detectors while enabling precision tests of fundamental physics.

View figure in article

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Article Text

References (33)

  1. S. Dimopoulos, P. W. Graham, J. M. Hogan, M. A. Kasevich, and S. Rajendran, Atomic gravitational wave interferometric sensor, Phys. Rev. D 78, 122002 (2008).
  2. P. W. Graham, J. M. Hogan, M. A. Kasevich, and S. Rajendran, New method for gravitational wave detection with atomic sensors, Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 171102 (2013).
  3. N. Yu and M. Tinto, Gravitational wave detection with single-laser atom interferometers, Gen. Relativ. Gravit. 43, 1943 (2011).
  4. A. Abdalla, M. Abe, S. Abend, M. Abidi, M. Aidelsburger, A. Alibabaei, B. Allard, J. Antoniadis, G. Arduini, N. Augst, et al., Terrestrial very-long-baseline atom interferometry: Summary of the second workshop, EPJ Quantum Technol. 12, 42 (2025).
  5. B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. R. Abernathy, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. X. Adhikari, et al., Observation of gravitational waves from a binary black hole merger, Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 061102 (2016).
  6. T. A. Prince, M. Tinto, S. L. Larson, and J. Armstrong, LISA optimal sensitivity, Phys. Rev. D 66, 122002 (2002).
  7. P. W. Graham and S. Jung, Localizing gravitational wave sources with single-baseline atom interferometers, Phys. Rev. D 97, 024052 (2018).
  8. C. Caprini, M. Chala, G. C. Dorsch, M. Hindmarsh, S. J. Huber, T. Konstandin, J. Kozaczuk, G. Nardini, J. M. No, K. Rummukainen, P. Schwaller, G. Servant, A. Tranberg, and D. J. Weir, Detecting gravitational waves from cosmological phase transitions with LISA: An update, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 03 (2020) 024.
  9. P. W. Graham, J. M. Hogan, M. A. Kasevich, S. Rajendran, and R. W. Romani, Mid-band gravitational wave detection with precision atomic sensors, arXiv:1711.02225.
  10. R. E. Anthony, A. T. Ringler, M. DuVernois, K. R. Anderson, and D. C. Wilson, Six decades of seismology at South Pole, Antarctica: Current limitations and future opportunities to facilitate new geophysical observations, Seismol. Res. Lett. 92, 2718 (2021).
  11. H. Richter, Earthquake sensors buried in the quietest spot on Earth, Science 391, 430 (2026).
  12. S. Abend, B. Allard, I. Alonso, J. Antoniadis, H. Araújo, G. Arduini, A. S. Arnold, T. Asano, N. Augst, L. Badurina, et al., Terrestrial very-long-baseline atom interferometry: Workshop summary, AVS Quantum Sci. 6, 024701 (2024).
  13. P. B. Price, O. V. Nagornov, R. Bay, D. Chirkin, Y. He, P. Miocinovic, A. Richards, K. Woschnagg, B. Koci, and V. Zagorodnov, Temperature profile for glacial ice at the South Pole: Implications for life in a nearby subglacial lake, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 99, 7844 (2002).
  14. M. Abe, P. Adamson, M. Borcean, D. Bortoletto, K. Bridges, S. P. Carman, S. Chattopadhyay, J. Coleman, N. M. Curfman, K. DeRose, et al., Matter-wave atomic gradiometer interferometric sensor (MAGIS-100), Quantum Sci. Technol. 6, 044003 (2021).
  15. J. Harms, Terrestrial gravity fluctuations, Living Rev. Relativ. 22, 6 (2019).
  16. B. Canuel, A. Bertoldi, L. Amand, E. Pozzo di Borgo, T. Chantrait, C. Danquigny, M. Dovale Álvarez, B. Fang, A. Freise, R. Geiger, et al., Exploring gravity with the MIGA large scale atom interferometer, Sci. Rep. 8, 14064 (2018).
  17. J. Mitchell, T. Kovachy, S. Hahn, P. Adamson, and S. Chattopadhyay, MAGIS-100 environmental characterization and noise analysis, J. Instrum. 17, P01007 (2022).
  18. L. Badurina, V. Gibson, C. McCabe, and J. Mitchell, Ultralight dark matter searches at the sub-Hz frontier with atom multigradiometry, Phys. Rev. D 107, 055002 (2023).
  19. Methodological note: gravity gradient noise model parameters. Rayleigh waves are dominant surface seismic waves in the decihertz frequency band with an exponential ampitude decay with depth. Wave model depends on local site parameters such as ground density and wave speed, which need to be measured locally. Here, stand-in estimated parameters were used. Ground density equal to 1380kg/m3 for Homestake and Fermilab and 917kg/m3 for the South Pole was chosen, and Rayleigh wave speed of 205 m/s for land and 1640 m/s for ice. Model uses ground displacement amplitude and frequency input from seismometers located roughly 100–200 m below the surface to avoid added anthropogenic and atmospheric noise and provide a useful comparison between different sites. Newly installed (2026) broadband seismometers installed within the IceCube Upgrade at 2500 m depth will provide additional data for deep ice seismic properties at the South Pole. Atom interferometer gradiometer is modeled with one atom interferometer at depth of seismometer and second atom interferometer 1 km deeper. Spikes in Fermilab data and increased Homestake ground displacement above 1 Hz are of anthropogenic and atmospheric pressure origin.
  20. V. Mandic, V. C. Tsai, G. L. Pavlis, T. Prestegard, D. C. Bowden, P. Meyers, and R. Caton, A 3D broadband seismometer array experiment at the Homestake Mine, Seismol. Res. Lett. 89, 2420 (2018).
  21. J. R. Peterson, Observations and modeling of seismic background noise, U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 93-322 (1993), DOI: https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr93322.
  22. L. Badurina, E. Bentine, D. Blas, K. Bongs, D. Bortoletto, T. Bowcock, K. Bridges, W. Bowden, O. Buchmueller, C. Burrage, et al., AION: An atom interferometer observatory and network, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 05 (2020) 011.
  23. B. Canuel, S. Abend, P. Amaro-Seoane, F. Badaracco, Q. Beaufils, A. Bertoldi, K. Bongs, P. Bouyer, C. Braxmaier, W. Chaibi, et al., ELGAR—A European laboratory for gravitation and atom-interferometric research, Class. Quantum Grav. 37, 225017 (2020).
  24. C. Baynham, A. Bertoldi, D. Blas, O. Buchmueller, S. Calatroni, V. Charmandaris, M. L. Chiofalo, P. Cladé, J. Coleman, F. Di Pumpo, et al., Letter of intent: AICE—100 m atom interferometer experiment at CERN, arXiv:2509.11867.
  25. M.-S. Zhan, J. Wang, W.-T. Ni, D.-F. Gao, G. Wang, L.-X. He, R.-B. Li, L. Zhou, X. Chen, J.-Q. Zhong, et al., ZAIGA: Zhaoshan long-baseline atom interferometer gravitation antenna, Int. J. Mod. Phys. D 29, 1940005 (2020).
  26. Methodological note: sky-localization Fisher-matrix analysis. Sky localization used the Fisher information analysis method for a network of 1 km vertical baseline atom interferometers. Model binary black hole source parameters used chirp mass of 25M⊙, luminosity distance of 100 Mpc, binary inclination angle of π/4, and polarization angle of π/3. The Fisher information was integrated over the mid-band frequency range. Simulation used a detector noise model based on an optimal Homestake GGN floor with a factor of 10 assumed noise suppression.
  27. AIMforGW, https://github.com/sbaum90/AIMforGW.
  28. S. Baum, Z. Bogorad, and P. W. Graham, Gravitational wave measurement in the mid-band with atom interferometers, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 05 (2024) 027.
  29. S.-Y. Lan, P.-C. Kuan, B. Estey, P. Haslinger, and H. Müller, Influence of the Coriolis force in atom interferometry, Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 090402 (2012).
  30. S. M. Dickerson, J. M. Hogan, A. Sugarbaker, D. M. S. Johnson, and M. A. Kasevich, Multiaxis inertial sensing with long-time point source atom interferometry, Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 083001 (2013).
  31. J. Glick, Z. Chen, T. Deshpande, Y. Wang, and T. Kovachy, Coriolis force compensation and laser beam delivery for 100-m baseline atom interferometry, AVS Quantum Sci. 6, 014402 (2024).
  32. B. Dubetsky and M. Kasevich, Atom interferometer as a selective sensor of rotation or gravity, Phys. Rev. A 74, 023615 (2006).
  33. Y. Wang, J. Glick, T. Deshpande, K. DeRose, S. Saraf, N. Sachdeva, K. Jiang, Z. Chen, and T. Kovachy, Robust quantum control via multipath interference for thousandfold phase amplification in a resonant atom interferometer, Phys. Rev. Lett. 133, 243403 (2024).

Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. Research 8, 043111– Published 30 October, 2026
  • Received 2 July 2026
  • Accepted 21 September 2026
Crossmark - Check for updates button
Creative Commons Logo

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society

Sign In to Your Journals Account

Filter

Filter

Article Lookup

Enter a citation