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Physical Review A

Calcium-atom interferometer comprised of four copropagating traveling laser beams

Atsuo Morinaga, Yasushi Ohuchi

Published Mar 1, 1995• 11 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Four laser beams traveling in the same direction that split and reflect a thermal calcium atomic beam compose an atomic interferometer like the Mach-Zehnder optical interferometer. The interference performance of the atomic interferometer was examined by changing the phase of the induced dipole moment in the atomic wave due to the laser beams, or the phase of atomic ``wavepacket'' in an atomic trajectory due to the ac Stark effect. An interference signal with a visibility of more than 15% was obtained. This interferometer will be useful in the detection of weak signals that require a long integration time, since it is less sensitive to the fluctuation of the laser frequency compared with the optical Ramsey atomic interferometer.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.51.r1746

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Interference fringes of the atom interferometer comprised of four copropagating traveling laser beams

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An atom interferometer comprised of four copropagating traveling laser beams has been developed using a thermal calcium atomic beam and the performance of the interference fringes was investigated experimentally. The interference fringes with a visibility of 0.2 were observed at an excitation power of 0.6 mW. The signal-to-noise ratio was about 100 at an integration time of 5 ms. The equations for the interference signal were derived from the evolution matrices of spinors and the visibility was calculated in consideration of the divergent thermal atomic beam. The experimental results were described well by the present calculation.

Physical Review A•May 1, 1998•9 citations

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We observed the phase shift of the atomic wave function induced from the dc Stark effect using an atom interferometer comprised of four copropagating traveling laser beams. We calculated the interference signal for the interferometer in the case of a thermal atomic beam. By comparing the observed interference fringes with the calculated ones, the difference between the polarizabilities of the $^{3}P_{1}$ state and the $^{1}S_{0}$ state of calcium was obtained to be $\ensuremath{\alpha}(^{3}P_{1})\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\alpha}(^{1}S_{0})=(13.4\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}2.0)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}24}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{3}$. This value was consistent with that deduced from the Stark frequency shift.

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Visibility and phase of the atom interferometer comprised of three traveling laser beams

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Summary form only given. Atom interferometers are expected to be used as sensitive detectors in a variety of precision measurements; several versions were presented for various purposes until now. We have developed an atom interferometer comprised of a Ca thermal atomic beam and three copropagating traveling laser beams. The interferometer is a simple single interferometer and is expected to be of higher visibility than the atom interferometer with four laser beams.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics•Nov 27, 2002•0 citations

Interferometry with Ca atoms

F. Riehle, P. Kersten, Th. Kisters +3 more

Separated field excitation of a calcium atomic beam using four traveling laser fields represents two distinct atom interferometers utilizing the internal degrees of freedom of the atoms. Phase shifts between the atomic partial waves have been realized by phase shifts of the laser wave fields, by the ac-Stark shift, and by rotation of the interferometer (Sagnac effect). One particular interferometer can be selected by interaction of the atomic waves with extra laser fields. We furthermore report on the preparation of a laser cooled and deflected calcium atomic beam that can be utilized to largely increase the sensitivity of the interferometer.

European Quantum Electronics Conference (EQEC)•Aug 24, 2005•0 citations

Construction of a Calcium Matter-Wave Interferometer

Christopher Erickson

I describe the construction of a calcium matter-wave interferometer. The interferometer is based on a Ramsey-Borde scheme, and uses a thermal beam of atoms excited by an optical-frequency transition in calcium. In our experiment four pi/2 pulses of light are delivered to the atoms, which split and recombine the wave functions of the atoms. Our experimental design minimizes first-order Doppler shifts, and allows for the cancellation of systematic errors including phase shifts due to rotation and acceleration. I describe the individual components of the interferometer and its assembly. The requirements for the electronics used in the experiment as well as their design and performance are described in great detail. I also give an overview of the techniques used to passively stabilize the laser and optical components. Finally, I report on the current status of the experiment as well as detail future work to be done on the apparatus.

•Jan 1, 2007•0 citations

Thermal calcium atom interferometer with a phase resolution of a few milliradians based on a narrow-linewidth diode laser

Tomoya Akatsuka, Yoshihiro Mori, 伸彦 曾根 +3 more

A symmetrical atom interferometer with a thermal calcium atom beam has been developed using a narrow linewidth diode laser stabilized to the resonance of a high-finesse cavity. The linewidth of the diode laser was estimated to be less than 1 Hz relative to the cavity resonance in noise measurement over the range of 100 Hz to 1 MHz, and the phase instability of the interference fringes obtained from the Allan deviation was improved to 2 mrad at an integration time of 300 s. Using this atom interferometer, the ac Stark phase shift between the ${}^{1}$${S}_{0}$ and ${}^{3}$${P}_{1}$ states of a Ca atom was measured as a function of a laser power near the resonance of the ${}^{1}{S}_{0}{\ensuremath{-}}^{1}\phantom{\rule{-0.16em}{0ex}}{P}_{1}$ transition at a wavelength of 423 nm. The decay rate of the ${}^{1}$${P}_{1}$ state was determined to be $\ensuremath{\gamma}=1.91(33)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{8}$ s${}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$.

Physical Review A•Aug 25, 2011•4 citations
Four laser beams traveling in the same direction that split and reflect a thermal calcium atomic beam compose an atomic interferometer like the Mach-Zehnder optical interferometer. The interference performance of the atomic interferometer was examined by changing the phase of the induced dipole moment in the atomic wave due to the laser beams, or the phase of atomic ``wavepacket'' in an atomic trajectory due to the ac Stark effect. An interference signal with a visibility of more than 15% was obtained. This interferometer will be useful in the detection of weak signals that require a long integration time, since it is less sensitive to the fluctuation of the laser frequency compared with the optical Ramsey atomic interferometer.
An atom interferometer comprised of four copropagating traveling laser beams has been developed using a thermal calcium atomic beam and the performance of the interference fringes was investigated experimentally. The interference fringes with a visibility of 0.2 were observed at an excitation power of 0.6 mW. The signal-to-noise ratio was about 100 at an integration time of 5 ms. The equations for the interference signal were derived from the evolution matrices of spinors and the visibility was calculated in consideration of the divergent thermal atomic beam. The experimental results were described well by the present calculation.
We observed the phase shift of the atomic wave function induced from the dc Stark effect using an atom interferometer comprised of four copropagating traveling laser beams. We calculated the interference signal for the interferometer in the case of a thermal atomic beam. By comparing the observed interference fringes with the calculated ones, the difference between the polarizabilities of the 3P1^{3}P_{1}3P1​ state and the 1S0^{1}S_{0}1S0​ state of calcium was obtained to be $\ensuremath{\alpha}(^{3}P_{1})\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\alpha}(^{1}S_{0})=(13.4\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}2.0)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}24}$ cm3{\mathrm{cm}}^{3}cm3. This value was consistent with that deduced from the Stark frequency shift.
Separated field excitation of a calcium atomic beam using four traveling laser fields represents two distinct atom interferometers utilizing the internal degrees of freedom of the atoms. Phase shifts between the atomic partial waves have been realized by phase shifts of the laser wave fields, by the ac-Stark shift, and by rotation of the interferometer (Sagnac effect). One particular interferometer can be selected by interaction of the atomic waves with extra laser fields. We furthermore report on the preparation of a laser cooled and deflected calcium atomic beam that can be utilized to largely increase the sensitivity of the interferometer.
I describe the construction of a calcium matter-wave interferometer. The interferometer is based on a Ramsey-Borde scheme, and uses a thermal beam of atoms excited by an optical-frequency transition in calcium. In our experiment four pi/2 pulses of light are delivered to the atoms, which split and recombine the wave functions of the atoms. Our experimental design minimizes first-order Doppler shifts, and allows for the cancellation of systematic errors including phase shifts due to rotation and acceleration. I describe the individual components of the interferometer and its assembly. The requirements for the electronics used in the experiment as well as their design and performance are described in great detail. I also give an overview of the techniques used to passively stabilize the laser and optical components. Finally, I report on the current status of the experiment as well as detail future work to be done on the apparatus.
A symmetrical atom interferometer with a thermal calcium atom beam has been developed using a narrow linewidth diode laser stabilized to the resonance of a high-finesse cavity. The linewidth of the diode laser was estimated to be less than 1 Hz relative to the cavity resonance in noise measurement over the range of 100 Hz to 1 MHz, and the phase instability of the interference fringes obtained from the Allan deviation was improved to 2 mrad at an integration time of 300 s. Using this atom interferometer, the ac Stark phase shift between the 1{}^{1}1S0{S}_{0}S0​ and 3{}^{3}3P1{P}_{1}P1​ states of a Ca atom was measured as a function of a laser power near the resonance of the ${}^{1}{S}_{0}{\ensuremath{-}}^{1}\phantom{\rule{-0.16em}{0ex}}{P}_{1}$ transition at a wavelength of 423 nm. The decay rate of the 1{}^{1}1P1{P}_{1}P1​ state was determined to be $\ensuremath{\gamma}=1.91(33)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{8}$ s${}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$.