Letter of Intent: AICE -- 100m Atom Interferometer Experiment at CERN

Charles Baynham; Andrea Bertoldi; Diego Blas; Oliver Buchmueller; Sergio Calatroni; Vassilis Charmandaris; Maria Luisa Chiofalo; Pierre Cladé; Jonathon Coleman; Fabio Di Pumpo; John Ellis; Naceur Gaaloul; Saïda Guellati-Khelifa; Tiffany Harte; Richard Hobson; Michael Holynski; Samuel Lellouch; Lucas Lombriser; Elias Lopez Asamar; Michele Maggiore; Christopher McCabe; Jeremiah Mitchell; Ernst M. Rasel; Federico Sanchez Nieto; Wolfgang Schleich; Dennis Schlippert; Ulrich Schneider; Steven Schramm; Marcelle Soares-Santos; Guglielmo M. Tino; Jonathan N. Tinsley; Tristan Valenzuela; Maurits van der Grinten; Wolf von Klitzing

arXiv · 2509.11867

Letter of Intent: AICE -- 100m Atom Interferometer Experiment at CERN

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Abstract

We propose an O(100)m Atom Interferometer (AI) experiment -- AICE -- to be installed against a wall of the PX46 access shaft to the LHC. This experiment would probe unexplored ranges of the possible couplings of bosonic ultralight dark matter (ULDM) to atomic constituents and undertake a pioneering search for gravitational waves (GWs) at frequencies intermediate between those to which existing and planned experiments are sensitive, among other fundamental physics studies. A conceptual feasibility study showed that this AI experiment could be isolated from the LHC by installing a shielding wall in the TX46 gallery, and surveyed issues related to the proximity of the LHC machine, finding no technical obstacles. A detailed technical implementation study has shown that the preparatory civil-engineering work, installation of bespoke radiation shielding, deployment of access-control systems and safety alarms, and installation of an elevator platform could be carried out during LS3, allowing installation and operation of the AICE detector to proceed during Run 4 without impacting HL-LHC operation. These studies have established that PX46 is a uniquely promising location for an AI experiment. We foresee that, if the CERN management encourages this Letter of Intent, a significant fraction of the Terrestrial Very Long Baseline Atom Interferometer (TVLBAI) Proto-Collaboration may wish to contribute to AICE.

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Charles Baynham, Andrea Bertoldi, Diego Blas, Oliver Buchmueller, Sergio Calatroni, Vassilis Charmandaris, Maria Luisa Chiofalo, Pierre Cladé, Jonathon Coleman, Fabio Di Pumpo, John Ellis, Naceur Gaaloul, Saïda Guellati-Khelifa, Tiffany Harte, Richard Hobson, Michael Holynski, Samuel Lellouch, Lucas Lombriser, Elias Lopez Asamar, Michele Maggiore, Christopher McCabe, Jeremiah Mitchell, Ernst M. Rasel, Federico Sanchez Nieto, Wolfgang Schleich, Dennis Schlippert, Ulrich Schneider, Steven Schramm, Marcelle Soares-Santos, Guglielmo M. Tino, Jonathan N. Tinsley, Tristan Valenzuela, Maurits van der Grinten, Wolf von Klitzing. 2025-09-15. Letter of Intent: AICE -- 100m Atom Interferometer Experiment at CERN. https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.11867

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