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arXiv:1812.09076 · Physical Review A

Readout-delay-free Bragg atom interferometry using overlapped spatial fringes

P. B. Wigley, Kyle S. Hardman, Christian Freier, P. J. Everitt, Samuel Legge, Manju Perumbil, J. D. Close, Nicholas P. Robins

Published Feb 11, 2019• 12 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

A method for mitigating the readout delay characteristic of Bragg-based atom interferometry is presented, utilizing an asymmetric Mach-Zehnder interferometer sequence to generate spatial fringes that are read out while still overlapped. The time of flight after the final beamsplitter is engineered to facilitate constructive overlap of the fringes on the output states. A noise analysis performed using a precision atom interferometer is presented, comparing the traditional separated symmetric scheme with that of the separated and overlapped asymmetric scheme showing no significant increase in short-term phase noise.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.99.023615

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A method for mitigating the readout delay characteristic of Bragg-based atom interferometry is presented, utilizing an asymmetric Mach-Zehnder interferometer sequence to generate spatial fringes that are read out while still overlapped. The time of flight after the final beamsplitter is engineered to facilitate constructive overlap of the fringes on the output states. A noise analysis performed using a precision atom interferometer is presented, comparing the traditional separated symmetric scheme with that of the separated and overlapped asymmetric scheme showing no significant increase in short-term phase noise.
We demonstrate a momentum-resolved detection technique in a sensitive Bragg atom interferometer, where the populations of the atomic final states are measured by the Raman spectroscopy method. This method avoids cross-couplings due to the space overlapping of atomic states and significantly increases the fringe visibility without requiring spatial separation. Thanks to this detection method, we are able to achieve the high fringe visibility of greater than 8080%80 at an interrogation time of T=1T=1T=1 ms. With T=250T=250T=250 ms and a visibility of 1010%10, it shows an improved resolution for gravity measurements at the level of $7\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}10}g$ in an integration time of 1000 s. This work can be applied in developing compact portable sensing devices or improving the precision of tests on fundamental physics.
Bragg diffraction of matter waves is an established technique used in the most accurate quantum sensors. It is also the method of choice to operate large-momentum-transfer, high-sensitivity atom interferometers. It suffers, however, from an intrinsic multi-path character. Optimal control theory (OCT) has recently led to an improved robustness of atom interferometers to a range of challenging environmental effects such as vibrations or platform accelerations. In this theoretical work, we apply OCT protocols to control the Bragg diffraction phase shifts, thereby enhancing the metrological accuracy of the interferometer. We show a minimization of the diffraction phase for realistic conditions of finite temperature of the incoming wavepacket in a multi-path, high-order Bragg interferometer in a Mach–Zehnder configuration. We study input states with different momentum widths and find that our approach mitigates diffraction phases below the microradian level in the case of 1% of the photon recoil, thereby eliminating one of the leading systematic effects in atom interferometry.
We present up to 24-photon Bragg diffraction as a beam splitter in light-pulse atom interferometers to achieve the largest splitting in momentum space so far. Relative to the 2-photon processes used in the most sensitive present interferometers, these large momentum transfer beam splitters increase the phase shift 12-fold for Mach-Zehnder (MZ) and 144-fold for Ramsey-Bordé (RB) geometries. We achieve a high visibility of the interference fringes (up to 52% for MZ or 36% for RB) and long pulse separation times that are possible only in atomic fountain setups. As the atom's internal state is not changed, important systematic effects can cancel.
We present a laser system with low-phase noise and an output power up to 8.8 W at 780 nm for driving Bragg transitions in a 87Rb fountain. An optical phase-locked loop (OPLL) is employed to restrain the phase noise that arises from the spatial separation of the two Bragg beams at low frequencies. The residual phase variance is suppressed by two orders around 400 Hz. A Mach-Zehnder Bragg atom interferometer, based on the four-photon recoil scheme, has been realized using this laser system. This interferometer shows a resolution of 5×10−9g at an integration time of 1200 s for gravity measurements.
Abstract Multi-photon Bragg diffraction is a powerful method for fast, coherent momentum transfer of atom waves. However, laser noise, Doppler detunings, and cloud expansion limit its efficiency in large momentum transfer (LMT) pulse sequences. We present simulation studies of robust Bragg pulses developed through numerical quantum optimal control. Optimized pulse performance under noise and cloud inhomogeneities is analyzed and compared to analogous Gaussian and adiabatic rapid passage pulses in simulated LMT Mach–Zehnder interferometry sequences. The optimized pulses maintain robust population transfer and phase response over a broader range of noise, resulting in superior contrast in LMT sequences with thermal atom clouds and intensity inhomogeneities. Large optimized LMT sequences use lower pulse area than Gaussian pulses, making them less susceptible to spontaneous emission loss. The optimized sequences maintain over five times better contrast with tens of ℏ k momentum separation and offer more improvement with greater LMT. Such pulses could allow operation of Bragg atom interferometers with unprecedented sensitivity, improved contrast, and hotter atom sources.
Abstract Atom interferometers that employ atoms in superpositions of different electronic states are sensitive to any noise that affects these superposed states differently. Resilience to such noise results from using superpositions where the atomic states differ in momentum only, but implementation of such ‘state-symmetric’ diffraction can lead to population loss into unwanted states and restricts the atomic velocity acceptance of the interferometer. In this paper, by varying the laser intensities and phases as functions of time, we present optimized pulses designed for use in state-symmetric interferometers that overcome these restrictions. We extend this optimization to multi-pulse sequences designed to increase the interferometer area and demonstrate significant improvements in the fringe visibility compared with sequences of π/2 and π pulses. We discuss the limits on the temperature of the atomic source required for efficient atomic diffraction and show how optimized pulse sequences enable efficient diffraction with considerably warmer clouds, hence reducing the need for velocity selection and increasing the measurement signal-to-noise ratio.