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arXiv:2406.16847 · Physical Review A

Realizing a spatially correlated lattice interferometer

Peng Peng, Dekai Mao, Yi Liang, Guoling Yin, Hongmian Shui, Bo Song, Xiaoji Zhou

Published Nov 12, 2025• 0 citations
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Abstract

Atom interferometers provide a powerful tool for measuring physical constants and affirming fundamental physics with unprecedented precision. The sensitivity of atom interferometers is significantly enhanced by optical lattices and coherent atomic sources. However, their interplay gives rise to additional complexities and intriguing phenomena. Here, we report on realizing a Ramsey-Bord\'e interferometer of coherent matter waves modified by a moving optical lattice in a gravitational field, and explore a resulting multipath interference with tunable coherence. We investigate spatial correlations of atoms both within the lattice and between two arms by interferometry, and observed the emerging multiple interference peaks of the Bose-Einstein condensate with sublattice site resolution. Our findings agree well with simulations, paving the way for high-precision interferometry and exploring rich interferometer phenomena using ultracold atoms.

DOI
10.1103/htfk-k752

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Matter–wave interferometry is a powerful tool for high-precision measurements of the quantum properties of atoms, many-body phenomena and gravity. The most precise matter–wave interferometers exploit the excellent localization in momentum space and coherence of the degenerate gases. Further enhancement of the sensitivity and reduction of complexity are crucial conditions for the success and widening of their applications. Here we introduce a multi-state interferometric scheme that offers advances in both these aspects. The coherent coupling between Bose–Einstein condensates in different Zeeman states is used to generate high-harmonic output signals with an enhanced resolution and the maximum possible interferometric visibility. We demonstrate the realization of such an interferometer as a compact, easy to use, atom-chip device. This provides an alternative method for the measurement of the light–atom and surface–atom interactions and enables the application of multi-parameter sensing schemes in cold-atom interferometry.
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We report on a matter wave interferometer realized with entangled pairs of trapped 87Rb atoms. Each pair of atoms is confined at a single site of an optical lattice potential. The interferometer is realized by first creating a coherent spin superposition of the two atoms and then tuning the interstate scattering length via a Feshbach resonance. The selective change of the interstate scattering length leads to an entanglement dynamics of the two-particle state that can be detected in a Ramsey interference experiment. This entanglement dynamics is employed for a precision measurement of atomic interaction parameters. Furthermore, the interferometer allows us to separate lattice sites with one or two atoms in a nondestructive way.