Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:1609.00659 · Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics

Rotation sensing with trapped ions *

Wesley C. Campbell, Paul Hamilton

Published Jan 19, 2017• 63 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract We present a protocol for rotation measurement via matter-wave Sagnac interferometry using trapped ions. The ion trap based interferometer encloses a large area in a compact apparatus through repeated round-trips in a Sagnac geometry. We show how a uniform magnetic field can be used to close the interferometer over a large dynamic range in rotation speed and measurement bandwidth without contrast loss. Since this technique does not require the ions to be confined in the Lamb–Dicke regime, Doppler laser cooling should be sufficient to reach a sensitivity of  = 1.4 × 10 − 6 rad s − 1 H z − 1 / 2 .

DOI
10.1088/1361-6455/aa5a8f

Related papers

Multi-loop atomic Sagnac interferometry

Christian Schubert, Sven Abend, Matthias Gersemann +4 more

The sensitivity of light and matter-wave interferometers to rotations is based on the Sagnac effect and increases with the area enclosed by the interferometer. In the case of light, the latter can be enlarged by forming multiple fibre loops, whereas the equivalent for matter-wave interferometers remains an experimental challenge. We present a concept for a multi-loop atom interferometer with a scalable area formed by light pulses. Our method will offer sensitivities as high as [Formula: see text] rad/s at 1 s in combination with the respective long-term stability as required for Earth rotation monitoring.

arXiv:2102.00991•Scientific Reports•Aug 9, 2021•35 citations

Rotation Sensing of a Trapped Nanoparticle Assisted by Magnetic Field Gradient

Lv‐Yun Wang, J.-F. Wei, Kaifeng Cui +6 more

We propose a rotation sensing scheme based on the Sagnac interferometer for a single trapped particle system. In this scheme, the spin and vibrational states of the particle, prepared in a coherent state, are translated into a Schr\"odinger cat state by applying a strong magnetic field gradient to create the spin-dependent force. By reflecting the phase related to the rotational rate accumulated by the two arms of the interferometer to the spin state, we can obtain the rotational rate of the apparatus by performing spin measurement. The scheme can also be applied to the situation with the vibration state in the thermal state. The sensing sensitivity can reach $S=4.47\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}7}\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}\mathrm{rad}/\mathrm{s}\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}\sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}$ for a suspended diamond nanoparticle and $S=5.65\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}6}\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}\mathrm{rad}/\mathrm{s}\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}\sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}$ for a trapped ${}^{40}{\mathrm{Ca}}^{+}$. Combining with the experimental parameters, our scheme is applied to realize the gyroscope in a trapped single nanoparticle and atomic ion.

Physical Review Applied•Sep 27, 2023•2 citations

Rotation sensing with a dual atom-interferometer Sagnac gyroscope

T. L. Gustavson, Arnaud Landragin, Mark A. Kasevich

We reports improvements to our Sagnac effect matter-wave interferometer gyroscope. This device now has a short-term rotation-rate sensitivity of 6 × 10 -10 rad s -1 over 1 s of integration, which is the best publicly reported value to date. Stimulated Raman transitions are used to coherently manipulate atoms from counterpropagating thermal beams, forming two interferometers with opposite rotation phase shifts, allowing rotation to be distinguished from acceleration and laser arbitrary phase. Furthermore, electronically compensating the rotation-induced Doppler shifts of the Raman lasers allows operation at an effective zero rotation rate, improving sensitivity and facilitating sensitive lock-in detection readout techniques. Long-term stability is promising but not yet fully characterized. Potential applications include inertial navigation, geophysical studies and tests of general relativity.

Classical and Quantum Gravity•Jun 8, 2000•474 citations

Guided-wave Sagnac atom interferometer with large area and multiple orbits

Marybeth Beydler, Edward Moan, Zhe Luo +2 more

We describe a matter-wave Sagnac interferometer using Bose condensed atoms confined in a time-orbiting potential trap. Compared to our previous implementation [Moan et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 120403 (2020)], our new apparatus provides better thermal stability, improved optical access, and reduced trap anharmonicity. The trapping field can be adjusted to compensate for small tilts of the apparatus in gravity. These features enable operation with an effective Sagnac area of 4 mm2 per orbit, and we observe interference with 25% visibility after two orbits at a total interrogation time of 0.6 s. Long-term measurements indicate a phase stability of 0.2 rad or better.

arXiv:2308.11481•AVS Quantum Science•Jan 9, 2024•15 citations

Sensing Aharonov-Bohm Phase Using a Multiply-Orbiting-Ion Interferometer

Ryoichi Saito, Takashi Mukaiyama

Interferometers, which are built using spatially propagating light or matter waves, are commonly used to measure physical quantities. These measurements are made possible by exploiting the interference between waves traveling along different paths. This study introduces a novel approach to sensing of the Aharonov-Bohm phase, an ion matter-wave interferometer operating within a two-dimensional rotational trajectory in a trap potential. The ion orbitals in the nearly circular potential change rotation direction with time. This reversal of rotation direction results in a corresponding change in the interference phase. Our study is the first attempt to utilize propagating matter waves of an ion in constructing a two-dimensional interferometer for the measurement of physical quantities. Given that the scale factor of the interferometer to the cyclotron motion and the rotation of the system is common, the sensitivity to the Aharonov-Bohm phase in this study corresponds to a rotation sensitivity of approximately 300 rad/s. Besides advancing interferometry, our work also lays the foundation for future research into the use of ion matter waves in gyroscopic applications.

arXiv:2403.09982•Physical Review Letters•Oct 1, 2024•1 citation

Controlling the dynamical scale factor in a trapped atom Sagnac interferometer

Yijia Zhou, Igor Lesanovsky, T. Fernholz +1 more

Sagnac interferometers with massive particles promise unique advantages in achieving high-precision measurements of rotation rates over their optical counterparts. Recent proposals and experiments are exploring nonballistic Sagnac interferometers where trapped atoms are transported along a closed path. This is achieved by using superpositions of internal quantum states and their control with state-dependent potentials. We address emergent questions regarding the dynamical behavior of Bose-Einstein condensates in such an interferometer and its impact on rotation sensitivity. We investigate complex dependencies on atomic interactions as well as trap geometries, rotation rates, and speed of operation. We find that temporal transport profiles obtained from a simple optimization strategy for noninteracting particles remain surprisingly robust also in the presence of interactions over a large range of realistic parameters. High sensitivities can be achieved for short interrogation times far from the adiabatic regime. This highlights a route to building fast and robust guided-ring Sagnac interferometers with fully trapped atoms.

arXiv:1811.11107•Physical Review A•Jan 29, 2020•3 citations
Abstract We present a protocol for rotation measurement via matter-wave Sagnac interferometry using trapped ions. The ion trap based interferometer encloses a large area in a compact apparatus through repeated round-trips in a Sagnac geometry. We show how a uniform magnetic field can be used to close the interferometer over a large dynamic range in rotation speed and measurement bandwidth without contrast loss. Since this technique does not require the ions to be confined in the Lamb–Dicke regime, Doppler laser cooling should be sufficient to reach a sensitivity of  = 1.4 × 10 − 6 rad s − 1 H z − 1 / 2 .
The sensitivity of light and matter-wave interferometers to rotations is based on the Sagnac effect and increases with the area enclosed by the interferometer. In the case of light, the latter can be enlarged by forming multiple fibre loops, whereas the equivalent for matter-wave interferometers remains an experimental challenge. We present a concept for a multi-loop atom interferometer with a scalable area formed by light pulses. Our method will offer sensitivities as high as [Formula: see text] rad/s at 1 s in combination with the respective long-term stability as required for Earth rotation monitoring.
We propose a rotation sensing scheme based on the Sagnac interferometer for a single trapped particle system. In this scheme, the spin and vibrational states of the particle, prepared in a coherent state, are translated into a Schr\"odinger cat state by applying a strong magnetic field gradient to create the spin-dependent force. By reflecting the phase related to the rotational rate accumulated by the two arms of the interferometer to the spin state, we can obtain the rotational rate of the apparatus by performing spin measurement. The scheme can also be applied to the situation with the vibration state in the thermal state. The sensing sensitivity can reach $S=4.47\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}7}\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}\mathrm{rad}/\mathrm{s}\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}\sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}$ for a suspended diamond nanoparticle and $S=5.65\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}6}\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}\mathrm{rad}/\mathrm{s}\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}\sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}$ for a trapped 40Ca+{}^{40}{\mathrm{Ca}}^{+}40Ca+. Combining with the experimental parameters, our scheme is applied to realize the gyroscope in a trapped single nanoparticle and atomic ion.
We reports improvements to our Sagnac effect matter-wave interferometer gyroscope. This device now has a short-term rotation-rate sensitivity of 6 × 10 -10 rad s -1 over 1 s of integration, which is the best publicly reported value to date. Stimulated Raman transitions are used to coherently manipulate atoms from counterpropagating thermal beams, forming two interferometers with opposite rotation phase shifts, allowing rotation to be distinguished from acceleration and laser arbitrary phase. Furthermore, electronically compensating the rotation-induced Doppler shifts of the Raman lasers allows operation at an effective zero rotation rate, improving sensitivity and facilitating sensitive lock-in detection readout techniques. Long-term stability is promising but not yet fully characterized. Potential applications include inertial navigation, geophysical studies and tests of general relativity.
We describe a matter-wave Sagnac interferometer using Bose condensed atoms confined in a time-orbiting potential trap. Compared to our previous implementation [Moan et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 120403 (2020)], our new apparatus provides better thermal stability, improved optical access, and reduced trap anharmonicity. The trapping field can be adjusted to compensate for small tilts of the apparatus in gravity. These features enable operation with an effective Sagnac area of 4 mm2 per orbit, and we observe interference with 25% visibility after two orbits at a total interrogation time of 0.6 s. Long-term measurements indicate a phase stability of 0.2 rad or better.
Interferometers, which are built using spatially propagating light or matter waves, are commonly used to measure physical quantities. These measurements are made possible by exploiting the interference between waves traveling along different paths. This study introduces a novel approach to sensing of the Aharonov-Bohm phase, an ion matter-wave interferometer operating within a two-dimensional rotational trajectory in a trap potential. The ion orbitals in the nearly circular potential change rotation direction with time. This reversal of rotation direction results in a corresponding change in the interference phase. Our study is the first attempt to utilize propagating matter waves of an ion in constructing a two-dimensional interferometer for the measurement of physical quantities. Given that the scale factor of the interferometer to the cyclotron motion and the rotation of the system is common, the sensitivity to the Aharonov-Bohm phase in this study corresponds to a rotation sensitivity of approximately 300 rad/s. Besides advancing interferometry, our work also lays the foundation for future research into the use of ion matter waves in gyroscopic applications.
Sagnac interferometers with massive particles promise unique advantages in achieving high-precision measurements of rotation rates over their optical counterparts. Recent proposals and experiments are exploring nonballistic Sagnac interferometers where trapped atoms are transported along a closed path. This is achieved by using superpositions of internal quantum states and their control with state-dependent potentials. We address emergent questions regarding the dynamical behavior of Bose-Einstein condensates in such an interferometer and its impact on rotation sensitivity. We investigate complex dependencies on atomic interactions as well as trap geometries, rotation rates, and speed of operation. We find that temporal transport profiles obtained from a simple optimization strategy for noninteracting particles remain surprisingly robust also in the presence of interactions over a large range of realistic parameters. High sensitivities can be achieved for short interrogation times far from the adiabatic regime. This highlights a route to building fast and robust guided-ring Sagnac interferometers with fully trapped atoms.