We discuss practical schemes for using entangled Bose-Einstein condensates to detect phase shifts with a resolution better than the shot-noise limit. We begin by outlining a procedure for demonstrating how squeezed matter waves can be used to make measurements by simply lowering and raising a potential barrier between two condensates. The phase shift is read out by a scheme which involves releasing the condensates and studying the collapses and revivals of the visibility of the observed interference fringes. Finally we show how this scheme could be extended to measurements of other quantities such as gravity. All the steps of this process are attainable with current technology and so may provide a practical route for achieving enhanced resolution measurements with matter waves.
We discuss practical schemes for using entangled Bose-Einstein condensates to detect phase shifts with a resolution better than the shot-noise limit. We begin by outlining a procedure for demonstrating how squeezed matter waves can be used to make measurements by simply lowering and raising a potential barrier between two condensates. The phase shift is read out by a scheme which involves releasing the condensates and studying the collapses and revivals of the visibility of the observed interference fringes. Finally we show how this scheme could be extended to measurements of other quantities such as gravity. All the steps of this process are attainable with current technology and so may provide a practical route for achieving enhanced resolution measurements with matter waves.
We discuss a scheme for using entangled Bose-Einstein condensates to detect phase differences with a resolution better than the standard quantum limit. To date, schemes have shown that the enhancement in phase resolution gained by entangling condensates is lost when dissipation is present. Here we show how this can be overcome by using number correlated condensates, as have been produced recently in the laboratory. We also outline a scheme for measuring this phase that is not destroyed when the effects of finite detector efficiency are considered.
Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC), with their coherence properties, have attracted wide interest for their possible application to ultraprecise interferometry and ultraweak force sensors. Since condensates, unlike photons, are interacting, they may permit the realization of specific quantum states needed as input of an interferometer to approach the Heisenberg limit, the supposed lower bound to precision phase measurements. To this end, we study the sensitivity to external weak perturbations of a representative matter-wave Mach-Zehnder interferometer whose input are two Bose-Einstein condensates created by splitting a single condensate in two parts. The interferometric phase sensitivity depends on the specific quantum state created with the two condensates, and, therefore, on the time scale of the splitting process. We identify three different regimes, characterized by a phase sensitivity $\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\theta}$ scaling with the total number of condensate particles N as (i) the standard quantum limit $\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\theta}\ensuremath{\sim}1∕{N}^{1∕2}$, (ii) the sub shot-noise $\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\theta}\ensuremath{\sim}1∕{N}^{3∕4}$, and the (iii) the Heisenberg limit $\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\theta}\ensuremath{\sim}1∕N$. However, in a realistic dynamical BEC splitting, the 1∕N limit requires a long adiabaticity time scale, which is hardly reachable experimentally. On the other hand, the sub-shot-noise sensitivity $\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\theta}\ensuremath{\sim}1∕{N}^{3∕4}$ can be reached in a realistic experimental setting. We also show that the 1∕N3∕4 scaling is a rigorous upper bound in the limit $N\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty}$, while keeping constant all different parameters of the bosonic Mach-Zehnder interferometer.
We investigate how to estimate from atom-position measurements the relative phase of two Bose-Einstein condensates released from a double-well potential. We demonstrate that the phase-estimation sensitivity via the fit of the average density to the interference pattern is fundamentally bounded by shot noise. The shot noise can be overcome by estimating the phase from the measurement of order N (or higher) correlation functions. The optimal estimation strategy, saturating the quantum Fisher information, requires the measurement of the Nth-order correlation function. We demonstrate that a different estimation method---based on the detection of the center of mass of the interference pattern---also provides sub-shot-noise sensitivity. The implementation of both protocols, however, might be experimentally challenging.
Whenever the value of an unknown parameter $\ensuremath{\theta}$ is extracted from a series of experiments, the result is inevitably burdened by the uncertainty $\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\theta}$. If the system that is the subject of measurement consists of unentangled particles, this uncertainty is bounded by the shot-noise limit. To overcome this limitation, it is necessary to use a properly entangled state, which is usually prepared in a dedicated procedure. We show that quantum correlations arising from the indistinguishability of bosons are a sufficient resource for the sub-shot-noise interferometry. To this end, we consider an interferometer, which operates on two independently prepared Bose-Einstein condensates with fluctuating numbers of particles. We calculate the sensitivity obtained from the measurement of the number of atoms and compare it with the ultimate achievable bound. Our main conclusion is that even in the presence of major atom number fluctuations, an interferometer operating on two independently prepared condensates can give very high precision. These observations indicate a new possibility for an interferometer operating below the shot-noise limit.
The quantum phase of a Bose-Einstein condensate has long been a subject fraught with misunderstanding and confusion. In this thesis we provide a consis- tent description of this phenomenon and, in particular, discuss how phase may be defined, created, manipulated, and controlled. We begin by describing how it is possible to set up a reference condensate against which the phase of other condensates can be compared. This allows us to think of relative phases as if they were absolute and gives a clear and precise definition to 'the phase of a condensate'. A relative phase may also be established by coupling condensates and we show how this can be controlled. We then extend this model to explain how the phase along a chain of coupled condensates can lock naturally without the need for any measurements. The second part of the thesis deals primarily with the link between entangle- ment and phase. We show that, in general, the more entangled a state is, the better its phase resolution. This leads us to consider schemes by which maximally entangled states may be able to be created since these should give the best prac- tical advantages over their classical counterparts. We consider two such states: a number correlated pair of condensates and a Schrodinger cat state. Both schemes are shown to be remarkably robust to loss. A comparison of the merits of these two states, as the inputs to an interferom- eter, reveals very different behaviours. In particular, the number correlated state performs significantly better than the cat state in the presence of loss, which means that it might be useful in interferometry and frequency standard schemes where phase resolution is of the utmost importance. Finally, we propose a scheme for concentrating the entanglement between con- densates, which is an important step in quantum communication protocols. This, along with the ability to manipulate phase and entanglement, suggests that the future for condensates holds not only academic interest but great potential for practical applications.
We show that the inherently large interatomic interactions of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) can enhance the sensitivity of a high precision cold-atom gravimeter beyond the shot-noise limit (SNL). Through detailed numerical simulation, we demonstrate that our scheme produces spin-squeezed states with variances up to 14 dB below the SNL, and that absolute gravimetry measurement sensitivities between two and five times below the SNL are achievable with BECs between 10^{4} and 10^{6} in atom number. Our scheme is robust to phase diffusion, imperfect atom counting, and shot-to-shot variations in atom number and laser intensity. Our proposal is immediately achievable in current laboratories, since it needs only a small modification to existing state-of-the-art experiments and does not require additional guiding potentials or optical cavities.