A compact dual atom interferometer gyroscope based on laser-cooled rubidium

Abstract

We present a compact and transportable inertial sensor for precision sensing of rotations and accelerations. The sensor consists of a dual Mach-Zehnder-type atom interferometer operated with laser-cooled 87 Rb. Raman processes are employed to coherently manipulate the matter waves. We describe and characterize the experimental apparatus. A method for passing from a compact geometry to an extended interferometer with three independent atom-light interaction zones is proposed and investigated. The extended geometry will enhance the sensitivity by more than two orders of magnitude which is necessary to achieve sensitivities better than 10 −8 rad/s/ √ Hz.

Coherent Stern–Gerlach momentum splitting on an atom chip

“…T he development of atom interferometry over the last two decades has given rise to new insights into the tenets of quantum mechanics 1 as well as to ultra-high accuracy sensors for fundamental physics [2][3][4] and technological applications 5,6 . Examples range from the creation of momentum state superpositions by accurate momentum transfer of laser photons 7,8 allowing high precision measurements of rotation, acceleration and gravity 5,6,9,10 , to the splitting of trapped ultracold atoms by local potential barriers [11][12][13] allowing the investigation of fundamental properties of quantum systems of a few or many particles, such as decoherence and entanglement [14][15][16] .…”

“…Examples range from the creation of momentum state superpositions by accurate momentum transfer of laser photons 7,8 allowing high precision measurements of rotation, acceleration and gravity 5,6,9,10 , to the splitting of trapped ultracold atoms by local potential barriers [11][12][13] allowing the investigation of fundamental properties of quantum systems of a few or many particles, such as decoherence and entanglement [14][15][16] .…”

Theoretical analysis of aliasing noises in cold atom Mach-Zehnder interferometers

“…To get realistic values, we use the data corresponding to the gyroscope described in [4] and we assume a longitudinal temperature of the atomic beam of T l = 50 μK, corresponding to a width of the velocity distribution of σ v ∼ = 7 cm/s for rubidium atoms. Taking L det = 3 cm, L = 6.5 cm andv = 2.8 m/s leads to a transit time T ∼ = 23 ms and an interrogation frequency of f i ∼ = 22 Hz.…”

“…Examples of such instruments developed nowadays in several laboratories are gyroscopes [2][3][4][5] for the measurement of rotation rates and gravimeters [6,7] for the measurement of the local acceleration of gravity g. Although based on different atoms and geometries, they rely on the same principle of operation which is very close to that of a cold atom fountain clock [8,9] if we replace the microwave Ramsey interrogation by a three-pulse Mach-Zehnder interrogation.…”

New Frontiers at the Interface of General Relativity and Quantum Optics

“…An atom absorbs a photon from one of the laser beams and is stimulated by the other laser beam to re-emit another one. In this way twice the recoil of a photon is transferred coherently to the atomic wave (rather than atoms) to generate a new spatial mode of a matter wave, see Müller et al (2009).…”