1,2,3,9,5,8- 1LNE-OP/LTE Observatoire de Paris, Paris, France (sebastien.merlet@obspm.fr)
- 2GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Section Hydrology, Potsdam, Germany
- 3Institute of Geodesy and Cartography, Centre of Geodesy and Geodynamics, Warsaw, Poland
- 4Exail, Quantum Systems, Talence, France
- 5Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy, Department Geodesy - Unit G4: Gravity Metrology, Leipzig, Germany
- 6Leibniz Institute for Applied Geophysics, Hannover, Germany
- 7Geosciences Montpellier, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, Univ des Antilles, Montpellier, France
- 8Leibniz University Hannover, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geodetic Science, Hannover, Germany
- 9Central Office of Measures, Warsaw, Poland
Quantum gravimeters have been in use as laboratory instruments by various research groups for some time and have been available as user-friendly commercial devices since 2014. In contrast to traditional absolute gravimeters such as the FG5, which employ corner cubes as a falling test mass, these devices utilise laser-cooled cold-atom clouds. The Absolute Quantum Gravimeter (AQG) produced by the French company Exail is available in two model series: indoor observatory devices (A-series) and outdoor capable devices (B-series).
In this contribution, we present the results of the world's first AQG comparison, conducted in January 2024 at Leibniz University Hanover (Germany) in the gravimetric laboratory of the HiTec building.
Five AQG units (B-series) participated in the comparison, operated by teams from France, Poland and Germany. The measurement activities were conducted over a five-day period, comprising 12-hour tracking series conducted both during the day and night. In contrast with traditional gravity comparisons, the primary objective of these joint measurements was to enhance the understanding of the operational principles of AQGs. In addition to the long measurements each device carried out on 3 out of 5 available pillars, dedicated tests were conducted jointly on all instruments, including tiltmeter calibrations and accelerometer response. The data processing and evaluation focused on device characteristics, stability over time, individual noise levels, and statistical uncertainties of individual measurements.
The joint AQG measurements were independently supported by classical relative and absolute gravity measurements with CG6 and FG5 gravimeters.
How to cite: Merlet, S., Reich, M., Dykowski, P., Vermeulen, P., Arnal, M., Gebauer, A., Sobh, M., Addi, N., Le Moigne, N., Thoss, H., Sekowski, M., Bergmann, J., and Timmen, L.: Results and Findings from the Worldwide First Joint Measurements with 5 Absolute Quantum Gravimeters, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-16499, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-16499, 2025.
