Direct heterodyne measurement of local blackbody radiation noise

Perform direct measurements of the local blackbody radiation noise coupled into Rydberg‑atom heterodyne receivers and quantify its contribution to the noise‑equivalent electric field under warm‑vapour operating conditions.

Background

The paper distinguishes intrinsic from extrinsic noise sources in Rydberg receivers. For warm vapour cells, thermal backgrounds from nearby materials (including the cell glass) can dominate. While conversion-based architectures have directly measured blackbody-induced noise, the authors note that the corresponding direct measurement for heterodyne readout has not yet been carried out.

Demonstrating and quantifying this noise in heterodyne configurations is critical for establishing realistic sensitivity limits and for translating laboratory performance into system-level specifications for space applications.

References

Direct measurements of the noise introduced by the local blackbody using heterodyne techniques have yet to be performed, whereas conversion techniques have measured it directly.

— Rydberg Receivers for Space Applications  (2601.20631 - Allinson et al., 28 Jan 2026) in Section 3, Performance Specification – Extrinsic Noise