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Physical Review A

Chirped-light-field atomic-beam splitter for atom interferometry

Y. B. Band

Published Jun 1, 1993• 6 citations
Publisher

Abstract

I propose a coherent atomic-beam splitter that can be used for atom interferometry. Chirped adiabatic passage between states of the atoms of the atomic beam is employed as they pass through a standing-wave radiation field to split coherently the atomic beam.
DOI
10.1103/physreva.47.4970

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Atom interferometers require atom mirrors and beam splitters that can maintain high fidelity even when experimental parameters vary from the ideal. We address the use of chirped laser pulses to provide such elements via rapid adiabatic passage, and present a prescription for practical pulses that offer controlled adiabaticity throughout. Full- and half-adiabatic pulses, providing mirrors and beam splitters, respectively, are derived, and the latter examined for robustness and suitability for experimental implementations.
Atom interferometry, in which atomic waves are coherently split and later recombined, has been called the Swiss Army knife of atomic physics because of its numerous applications [1]. Atom interferometers can be used to study gravity, observe quantum effects, and measure fundamental constants. However, the spitting of atomic beams has always been a challenging task. Several beam splitters for atoms have been developed over the years, many of which rely on complex, high-powered lasers whose photons collide with atoms to steer them along separate beam paths. Paul Hamilton and colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley, have built a more versatile beam splitter by using, for the first time, an optical cavity [2]. Laser pulses bounce back and forth inside the cavity, increasing the effective power in standing waves of light and reducing imperfections in the wave fronts. The light concentration within the cavity allows the use of common low-powered lasers for the initial pulses. The new design may lead to a universal atom interferometer with optical gratings that works with a wide range of atomic species.
The key elements for atom interferometers are atomic beam splitters and recombiners. An atomic beam splitter separates a single atomic wave function into a superposition state corresponding to two center of mass wavepackets that propagate in different spatial directions and a recombiner reunites the atomic beams. We report here on the investigation of 1) an atomic beam splitter with large separation angle based on the optical Stern Gerlach effect, 2) an atomic mirror based on the reflection of atoms by different types of evanescent waves (a simple evanescent wave and a surface plasmon wave), 3) an atomic beam splitter realized by the partial spatial reflection of an atom by an evanescent wave and 4) diffraction of atoms by a standing evanescent wave.
The wave nature of particles has been demonstrated in many experiments and it continues to be an active area of research [1]. Optical elements for atoms such as beam splitters and mirrors have been used for the manipulation of atomic deBroglie waves. Many of these elements use light forces which under certain conditions allow the coherent manipulation of the atoms and thus are important for atom interferometry. Atom interferometers have many uses, including the precise measurement of fundamental constants.