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Physics World

Opportunity knocks for atomic interferometers

H. Fearn, Marian O. Scully

Published Aug 1, 1991• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Optical interference is proof of the wave nature of light and matter–wave interferometers have also been shown to work for electrons and neutrons (by exploiting the de Broglie wavelength of the particles). Now a working interferometer for atoms has been demonstrated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) for the first time, in the sense that it uses “atomic beam splitters” to separate and recombine atomic beams (David W Keith et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. (1991) 66 2693). A simpler experiment at Konstanz University, Germany (O Carnal and J Mlynek Phys. Rev. Lett. (1991) 66 2689) has also demonstrated interference phenomena in atomic beams but a detailed description of the apparatus is not yet published. Atom interferometers will some day be useful in precision metrology, mass tomography, precision gyroscopes, general relativity, fundamental quantum mechanics and atomic physics.

DOI
10.1088/2058-7058/4/8/23

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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.

•Jul 14, 1996•1 citation
Optical interference is proof of the wave nature of light and matter–wave interferometers have also been shown to work for electrons and neutrons (by exploiting the de Broglie wavelength of the particles). Now a working interferometer for atoms has been demonstrated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) for the first time, in the sense that it uses “atomic beam splitters” to separate and recombine atomic beams (David W Keith et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. (1991) 66 2693). A simpler experiment at Konstanz University, Germany (O Carnal and J Mlynek Phys. Rev. Lett. (1991) 66 2689) has also demonstrated interference phenomena in atomic beams but a detailed description of the apparatus is not yet published. Atom interferometers will some day be useful in precision metrology, mass tomography, precision gyroscopes, general relativity, fundamental quantum mechanics and atomic physics.
Thanks to the wave nature of matter, it's possible to build the atomic analog of an optical interferometer, although it's extremely difficult, because the de Broglie wavelengths of atoms are typically 10 000 times shorter than those of light. The feat was accomplished four years ago by a number of groups, each with a different scheme for splitting and recombining the matter waves. (See PHYSICS TODAY, July 1991, page 17.) We are now starting to see the fulfillment of the hopes raised by those first atom interferometers as researchers hone their interferometers to yield ever more precise values of fundamental constants or explore fundamental aspects of quantum mechanics such as Berry's phase. For example, Steven Chu and his colleagues at Stanford University have measured the ratio h/m of Planck's constant to the mass of a cesium atom with a precision of one part in 107, although the systematic errors are at the level of 1 part in 106. An experiment to improve the absolute accuracy of the h/m measurement to a few parts in 109 is underway. This ratio is one factor in the determination of the finestructure constant.
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.
Abstract : An atom interferometer is constructed in which the atom waves are physically separated prior to being recombined. Fabricated transmission gratings are used as optical elements for the matter waves. Atom interferometers should be useful in studies of atomic properties, tests of basic quantum physics, for metrology, as rotation sensors, and perhaps ultimately as devices to make ultra- small structures using atom holograms. During the last year our atom interferometer has evolved from a rough plan to an essentially complete device. At present all the major components of the interferometer have been built, and tested at least once. The system will be given its first real try in the next year. Our interferometer consists of three 0.2 microns - period diffraction gratings equally spaced approx. 0.65 m apart in our atomic beam machine. The maximum separation of the beams will be approx. 60 microns. The first two gratings separate and redirect the atomic beam forming a standing wave interference pattern in the atomic flux at the third grating, which acts like a mask to sample this pattern. A principle technical obstacle is the mechanical vibrations of our machine which will blur the interference pattern.
Matter - wave interferometry began with the development of electron interferometers and neutron interferometers in the 1950s and 1960s, but it wasn't until 1991 that the first atom matter - wave interferometer was realized. This was followed by a surge of activity sparked by the advent of sources of ultracold laser-cooled atoms. Some of the potential advantages of atom interferometry over neutron interferometry include: much higher particle fluxes, lower particle velocities, larger particle masses, particles with internal states, and laboratory-based sources. This volume is the first text on atom interferometry. It consists of ten comprehensive review articles by leading researchers in the field, many of whom pioneered the first atom interferometers in 1991. The articles describe the different types of atom interferometers developed to date, ranging from the three-grating Mach - Zehnder interferometer based on nanofabricated grating structures (MIT) or standing-wave light-field gratings (Innsbruck), to the Talbot - Lau atom interferometer (Berkeley and Michigan), to atom interferometers based on internal-state labelling such as separated light-field interferometers (PTB, Hannover and Paris-Nord) and light-pulse interferometers (Stanford). Some of the recent applications of atom interferometry described in the articles include high precision measurements of rotations, the gravitational acceleration, and the fine structure constant (Stanford); measurements of topological phases (PTB and Hannover); correlation experiments with atoms and photons (Konstanz) and with pairs of atoms (Tokyo); holographic manipulation of atoms (Tokyo); and experiments on the quantum theory of measurement (Garching, Harvard and Texas A&M). In summary, this volume provides an excellent up-to-date account of atom interferometry and is recommended as essential reading for all researchers and would-be researchers in the field. At the same time it contains sufficient background material and theory to serve as an excellent introduction for the non-specialist. The field is presently moving at such a rapid pace, however, that many of the latest results reported in this volume will already have been superseded by the time it reaches the library shelves.
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.