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arXiv:1109.3605 · Physical Review A

Local gravity measurement with the combination of atom interferometry and Bloch oscillations

Renée Charrière, Malo Cadoret, Nassim Zahzam, Yannick Bidel, Alexandre Bresson

Published Jan 27, 2012• 96 citations
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Abstract

We present a local measurement of gravity combining Bloch oscillations and atom interferometry. With a falling distance of 0.8 mm, we achieve a sensitivity of $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}7}\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\text{g}$ with an integration time of 300 s. No bias associated with the Bloch oscillations has been measured. A contrast decay with Bloch oscillations has been observed and attributed to the spatial quality of the laser beams. A simple experimental configuration has been adopted where a single retroreflected laser beam performs atom launches, stimulated Raman transitions, and Bloch oscillations. The combination of Bloch oscillations and atom interferometry can thus be accomplished with an apparatus no more complex than a standard atomic gravimeter.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.85.013639

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We present a local measurement of gravity combining Bloch oscillations and atom interferometry. With a falling distance of 0.8 mm, we achieve a sensitivity of 2\ifmmode×\else\texttimes\fi10\ensuremath−7g2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}7}\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\text{g}2\ifmmode×\else\texttimes\fi10\ensuremath−7g with an integration time of 300 s. No bias associated with the Bloch oscillations has been measured. A contrast decay with Bloch oscillations has been observed and attributed to the spatial quality of the laser beams. A simple experimental configuration has been adopted where a single retroreflected laser beam performs atom launches, stimulated Raman transitions, and Bloch oscillations. The combination of Bloch oscillations and atom interferometry can thus be accomplished with an apparatus no more complex than a standard atomic gravimeter.
We present a scheme of a compact atomic gravimeter based on atom interferometry. Atoms are maintained against gravity using a sequence of coherent accelerations performed by the Bloch oscillations technique. We demonstrate a sensitivity of $4.8\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}8}$ with an integration time of 4 min. Combining this method with an atomic elevator allows us to measure the local gravity at different positions in the vacuum chamber. This method can be of relevance to improve the measurement of the Newtonian gravitational constant GGG.
We describe two experiments where atom interferometry is applied for precision measurements of gravitational effects. In the first, we measure the Newtonian gravitational constant G using an atom interferometry gravity-gradiometer which combines a rubidium fountain, a juggling scheme for fast launch of two atomic clouds, and Raman interferometry. We show that the sensor is able to detect the gravitational field produced by source masses and G is measured with better than 10-2 accuracy. In the second experiment, using ultra-cold strontium atoms in a vertical optical lattice and observing persistent Bloch oscillations for several seconds, we measure gravity acceleration with micromet-ric spatial resolution. We discuss the prospects for the study of gravitational forces at short distances and show that unexplored regions can be investigated in the search for deviations from Newtonian gravity.
An obvious determination of the local acceleration of gravity g can be deduced from the measurement of the velocity of falling atoms using a π-π pulses sequence of stimulated Raman transitions. By using a vertical standing wave to hold atoms against gravity, we expect to improve the relative accuracy by increasing the upholding time in the gravity field and to minimize the systematic errors induced by inhomogeneous fields, owing to the very small spatial amplitude of the atomic center-of-mass wavepacket periodic motion. We also propose to use such an experimental setup nearby a Watt balance. By exploiting the g / h ( h is the Planck constant) dependence of the Bloch frequency, this should provide a way to link a macroscopic mass to an atomic mass.
We here present a high sensitivity gravity-gradiometer based on atom interferometry. In our apparatus, two clouds of laser-cooled rubidium atoms are launched in fountain configuration and interrogated by a Raman interferometry sequence to probe the gradient of gravity field. We recently implemented a high-flux atomic source and a newly designed Raman lasers system in the instrument set-up. We discuss the applications towards a precise determination of the Newtonian gravitational constant G. The long-term stability of the instrument and the signal-to-noise ratio demonstrated here open interesting perspectives for pushing the measurement precision below the 100 ppm level.
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We demonstrate a precision measurement of local gravity acceleration g in Wuhan by a compact cold atom interferometer. The atom interferometer is in vertical Mach—Zehnder configuration realized using a π/2 - π - π/2 Raman pulse sequence. Cold atoms were prepared in a magneto-optical trap, launched upward to form an atom fountain, and then coherently manipulated to interfere by stimulated Raman transition. Population signal vs Raman laser phase was recorded as interference fringes, and the local gravity was deduced from the interference signal. We have obtained a resolution of 7 × 10 −9 g after an integration time of 236s under the best vibrational environment conditions. The absolute g value was derived from the chirp rate with a difference of 1.5 × 10 −7 g compared to the gravity reference value. The tidal phenomenon was observed by continuously monitoring the local gravity over 123 h.