Rotation related systematic effects in a cold atom interferometer onboard a Nadir pointing satellite.

We study the effects of rotations on a cold atom accelerometer onboard a Nadir pointing satellite. A simulation of the satellite attitude combined with a calculation of the phase of the cold atom interferometer allow us to evaluate the noise and bias induced by rotations. In particular, we evaluate the effects associated to the active compensation of the rotation due to Nadir pointing.

Simple and robust architecture of a laser system for atom interferometry.

We report a compact and robust architecture of a versatile laser system that allows the implementation of several advanced atom interferometry techniques, such as Bragg diffraction, Bloch oscillations, or single and double Raman diffraction. A low noise, frequency tunable fiber-laser (λ = ~1560 nm) serves as the seed. A couple of fiber-coupled amplifiers followed by two fibered second-harmonic generators produce a pair of phase-locked, frequency-controllable laser beams at 780 nm.