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arXiv:2606.11747

Ambiguity-Free Inertial Measurement with Multi-Wavelength Atom Interferometry

Weichen Jia, Yue Xin, Ke Shen, Yan-Ying Feng

Published Jun 10, 2026• 0 citations

Abstract

White-light interferometry enables ambiguity-free localization by synthesizing interference envelopes from multiple optical wavelengths, but no analogous capability has been realized for coherent matter waves. Here we report the first experimental demonstration of multi-wavelength atom interferometry, establishing the matter-wave counterpart of white-light interferometry. By exploiting counter-propagating atomic beams as multi-wavelength matter wave sources and synthesizing interference envelopes from their spectral components, we realize inertial measurements based on envelope localization rather than conventional fringe-phase estimation. The resulting multi-scale interferometric response provides ambiguity-free operation, a well-defined rotational scale factor, and reduced sensitivity to initial phase bias. As a proof of principle, we demonstrate simultaneous dual-axis rotation and acceleration sensing and directly resolve the phase ambiguity that fundamentally limits conventional open-loop atom interferometers. We further measure the Earth's rotation with a relative error of 4.3% and a long-term stability of 93 ppm at an averaging time of 15,000 s. Our results establish multi-wavelength atom interferometry as a new paradigm for coherent matter-wave sensing, extending the principles of white-light interferometry to atom optics and opening new opportunities for inertial sensing, geodesy, precision metrology, and inertial navigation.

DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2606.11747

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White-light interferometry enables ambiguity-free localization by synthesizing interference envelopes from multiple optical wavelengths, but no analogous capability has been realized for coherent matter waves. Here we report the first experimental demonstration of multi-wavelength atom interferometry, establishing the matter-wave counterpart of white-light interferometry. By exploiting counter-propagating atomic beams as multi-wavelength matter wave sources and synthesizing interference envelopes from their spectral components, we realize inertial measurements based on envelope localization rather than conventional fringe-phase estimation. The resulting multi-scale interferometric response provides ambiguity-free operation, a well-defined rotational scale factor, and reduced sensitivity to initial phase bias. As a proof of principle, we demonstrate simultaneous dual-axis rotation and acceleration sensing and directly resolve the phase ambiguity that fundamentally limits conventional open-loop atom interferometers. We further measure the Earth's rotation with a relative error of 4.3% and a long-term stability of 93 ppm at an averaging time of 15,000 s. Our results establish multi-wavelength atom interferometry as a new paradigm for coherent matter-wave sensing, extending the principles of white-light interferometry to atom optics and opening new opportunities for inertial sensing, geodesy, precision metrology, and inertial navigation.

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We show that light-pulse atom interferometry with atomic point sources and spatially resolved detection enables multiaxis (two rotation, one acceleration) precision inertial sensing at long interrogation times. Using this method, we demonstrate a light-pulse atom interferometer for

^{87}\mathrm{Rb}

with 1.4 cm peak wave packet separation and a duration of

2T=2.3\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{s}

. The inferred acceleration sensitivity of each shot is $6.7\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}12}g$, which improves on previous limits by more than 2 orders of magnitude. We also measure Earth's rotation rate with a precision of

200\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{nrad}/\mathrm{s}

.

We propose new multidimensional atom optics that can create coherent superpositions of atomic wave packets along three spatial directions. These tools can be used to generate light-pulse atom interferometers that are simultaneously sensitive to the three components of acceleration and rotation, and we discuss how to isolate these inertial components in a single experimental shot. We also present a new type of atomic gyroscope that is insensitive to parasitic accelerations and initial velocities. The ability to measure the full acceleration and rotation vectors with a compact, high-precision, low-bias inertial sensor could strongly impact the fields of inertial navigation, gravity gradiometry, and gyroscopy.

Matter-wave inertial sensing relies on the capability of manipulating the coherent wave nature of matter to build an interferometer and accurately measure a phase difference. Since the massive particle associated to the matter wave senses inertial effects, the interferometer represents an accurate inertial probe. Atom interferometers have benefited from the outstanding developments of laser-cooling techniques and reached accuracies comparable to those of inertial sensors based on optical interferometry. Thanks to their long term stability, they offer a breakthrough advance in accelerometry, gyroscopy and gravimetry, for applications to inertial guidance, geoid determinations, geophysics and metrology. They are also excellent candidates for laboratory-based tests of general relativity that could compete with the current tests using astronomical or macroscopic bodies. For example, they may provide new answers to the question of whether the free fall acceleration of a particle is universal, i.e. independent of its internal composition and quantum properties. We report here the first operation of an airborne quantum inertial sensor. We highlight their promising applications to inertial navigation and Earth observation. We also describe the improvement of the quantum sensor sensitivity in weightlessness, and discuss the possibility to conduct airborne or spaceborne tests of the Universality of Free Fall with quantum objects. We finally describe a matter-wave laser based interferometric gravitational antenna (MIGA). This infrastructure will allow for measuring with unprecedented resolution variations of the Earths gravity and of the strain of space-time allowing for enhancing the capabilities of existing and future gravitational wave detectors.

Light-pulsed atomic interferometers provide a promising quantum-based solution for inertial navigation applications. In this paper, we present an atomic interferometric inertial sensor designed to simultaneously measure rotation rate and acceleration, through continuous sampling using dual87Rb atomic beams as matter-wave sources. We observe Raman-Ramsey and Raman-Mach-Zehnder interferences and validate the inertial sensing capability by comparing the results with a classical quartz accelerometer and an optical-fiber gyroscope. Our work can serve as a foundational element for the development of a fully quantum inertial measurement unit characterized with a high data rate and large bandwidth.

Very Long Baseline Atom Interferometry (VLBAI) corresponds to ground-based atomic matter-wave interferometry on large scales in space and time, letting the atomic wave functions interfere after free evolution times of several seconds or wave packet separation at the scale of meters. As inertial sensors, e.g., accelerometers, these devices take advantage of the quadratic scaling of the leading order phase shift with the free evolution time to enhance their sensitivity, giving rise to compelling experiments. With shot noise-limited instabilities better than

10^{-9}

m/s

^2

at 1 s at the horizon, VLBAI may compete with state-of-the-art superconducting gravimeters, while providing absolute instead of relative measurements. When operated with several atomic states, isotopes, or species simultaneously, tests of the universality of free fall at a level of parts in

10^{13}

and beyond are in reach. Finally, the large spatial extent of the interferometer allows one to probe the limits of coherence at macroscopic scales as well as the interplay of quantum mechanics and gravity. We report on the status of the VLBAI facility, its key features, and future prospects in fundamental science.