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arXiv:2403.09982 · Physical Review Letters

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

Ryoichi Saito, Takashi Mukaiyama

Published Oct 1, 2024• 1 citation

Abstract

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.

DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.133.143402

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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.

In recent years there has been significant activity in research and development of high sensitivity accelerometers and gyroscopes using atom interferometers. In these devices, a fringe shift in the interference of atom de Broglie waves indicates the rotation rate of the interferometer relative to an inertial frame of reference. In both optical and atomic conventional Sagnac interferometers, the resultant phase difference due to rotation is independent of the wave velocity. However, we show that if an atom interforemeter is enclosed in a Faraday cage which is at some potential, the phase difference of the counter-propagating waves is proportional to the inverse square of the particle velocity and it is proportional to the applied potential. This is due to Aharonov-Bohm effect and it can be used to increase the rotation sensitivity of atom interferometers.

A gyroscope based on Sagnac interferometer measures the rotation rate relative to an inertial frame of reference. Sagnac effect originally has been derived and experimentally demonstrated with optical waves. Later, matter wave based Sagnac interferometers were developed due to inherent sensitivity over a photon based system. However in any interferometer whether it is photon or matter wave based the resultant phase shift due to counter-rotating waves is independent of the wave velocity. Here we show that one can have a larger phase shift with slower matter waves using Aharonov-Bohm effect: the phase difference of the counter propagating waves is proportional to the inverse square of the particle velocity.

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 .

We explore how recent advances in the manipulation of single-ion wave packets open new avenues for detecting weak magnetic fields sourced by ultralight dark matter. A trapped ion in a “Schrödinger’s cat” state can be prepared with its spin and motional degrees of freedom entangled and be used as a matter-wave interferometer that is sensitive to the Aharonov-Bohm-like phase shift accumulated by the ion over its trajectory. The result of the spin-motion entanglement is a parametrically enhanced sensitivity to weak magnetic fields as compared with an unentangled ion in a trap. Taking into account the relevant boundary conditions, we demonstrate that a single trapped ion can probe unexplored regions of kinetically mixed dark-photon dark matter parameter space in the 10 − 15 eV ≲ m A ′ ≲ 10 − 14 eV mass window. We also show how such a table-top quantum device will also serve as a complementary probe of axionlike particle dark matter in the same mass window.

Matter-wave interferometry with cold atoms offers a competitive tool for absolute measurements of acceleration and rotation. The sensitivity of atom-interferometric gyroscopes depends on the area enclosed by the interferometer. In this contribution, we present a concept for a rotation sensor, utilizing a multi-loop interferometer geometry to achieve a scalable area while maintaining a compact setup. It enables rotation measurements of a single axis on ground and can be extended to measure rotations along all three spatial axes in microgravity, for potential applications in space missions, Earth observation, and navigation systems.

In the Aharonov-Bohm effect, charged particles accumulate a phase as they travel in space, encircling a source of magnetic flux. We develop a temporal analog of the Aharonov-Bohm effect, where the photons' path is in the time-domain instead of the spatial domain, and moreover demonstrate it experimentally with entangled photon pairs rather than single, uncorrelated quanta. Relying on the temporal SU(1,1) interferometer, the constructed interferometric scheme excels in its temporal resolution and sensitivity. This system can be applied for quantum-enhanced measurements, metrology at GHz frequencies, advanced sensing of dispersion properties, and high-precision temporal measurements.