Ultra-cold atoms shatter the quantum accuracy ceiling in gravity measurements

Extremely cold atoms are being used to measure gravity more precisely than we thought possible, going beyond the limits imposed by quantum weirdness.

This record-breaking measurement was made using ultracold atoms, some of the most sensitive force sensors. They are useful for such studies because at the lowest possible temperature, i.e. absolute zero, they take on quantum properties that are highly sensitive to the pushes and pulls in their environment. But that sensitivity can be confounded by small fluctuations in atomic states, or “quantum noise.”