We demonstrate a light-pulse atom interferometer based on the diffraction of free-falling atoms by a picosecond frequency-comb laser. More specifically, we coherently split and recombine wave packets of cold ^{87}Rb atoms by driving stimulated Raman transitions between the |5s ^{2}S_{1/2},F=1⟩ and |5s ^{2}S_{1/2},F=2⟩ hyperfine states, using two trains of picosecond pulses in a counterpropagating geometry. We study the impact of the pulses' length as well as the interrogation time onto the contrast of the atom interferometer. Our experimental data are well reproduced by a numerical simulation based on an effective coupling that depends on the overlap between the pulses and the atomic cloud. These results pave the way for extending light-pulse interferometry to transitions in other spectral regions and therefore to other species, for new possibilities in metrology, sensing of gravito-inertial effects, and tests of fundamental physics.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.173204 | DOI Listing |
Phys Rev Lett
December 2024
Department of Physics and Astronomy and Center for Fundamental Physics, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA.
We introduce a novel technique for enhancing the robustness of light-pulse atom interferometers against the pulse infidelities that typically limit their sensitivities. The technique uses quantum optimal control to favorably harness the multipath interference of the stray trajectories produced by imperfect atom-optics operations. We apply this method to a resonant atom interferometer and achieve thousandfold phase amplification, representing a 50-fold improvement over the performance observed without optimized control.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhys Rev Lett
November 2024
MOE Key Laboratory of Fundamental Physical Quantities Measurement, Hubei Key Laboratory of Gravitation and Quantum Physics, PGMF, and School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, People's Republic of China.
Nat Commun
November 2024
Laboratoire Collisions Agrégats Réactivité (LCAR/FERMI), UMR5589, UniversitéToulouse III - Paul Sabatier and CNRS, 118 Route de Narbonne, F-31062, Toulouse, France.
The effective control of atomic coherence with cold atoms has made atom interferometry an essential tool for quantum sensors and precision measurements. The performance of these interferometers is closely related to the operation of large wave packet separations. We present here a novel approach for atomic beam splitters based on the stroboscopic stabilization of quantum states in an accelerated optical lattice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
November 2024
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.
Today's precision experiments for timekeeping, inertial sensing, and fundamental science place strict requirements on the spectral distribution of laser frequency noise. Rubidium-based experiments utilize table-top 780 nm laser systems for high-performance clocks, gravity sensors, and quantum gates. Wafer-scale integration of these lasers is critical for enabling systems-on-chip.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Adv
November 2024
DPHY, ONERA, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91123 Palaiseau, France.
Accurate and stable measurement of inertial quantities is essential in geophysics, geodesy, fundamental physics, and inertial navigation. Here, we present an architecture for a compact cold-atom accelerometer-gyroscope based on a magnetically launched atom interferometer. Characterizing the launching technique, we demonstrate 700-parts per million gyroscope scale factor stability over 1 day, while acceleration and rotation rate bias stabilities of 7 × 10 meters per second squared and 4 × 10 radians per second are reached after 2 days of integration of the cold-atom sensor.
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