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Focus: Interferometer for Lighter Atoms

Michael Schirber

Published Jun 9, 2017• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

A new atom interferometer works at less extreme temperatures and with lighter atoms than previous designs, opening up a new route to precision measurements of fundamental constants.

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Cold-atom interferometer based on stimulated Raman transition is interesting for both fundamental researches and precision measurements. Measuring g, the free fall acceleration, plays an important role in these applications. We describe the theory of atom interferometry, including the evolution of the atomic wavepacket in gravity field, the laser-atom interaction, and the interference of the atomic waves. In this article, we introduce the procedure of measuring g using atom interferometer, the experimental setup, and the tendency of the future development. The works of the domestic and international groups for g measurement are concluded. Furthermore, the noise limits and dominant systematic effects in atom gravimeters are analyzed. The suppressions of the background vibration, the Raman phase noise, and the evaluation of the main systematic effects, are introduced. Finally, the other applications using the atom interferometers for precision measurement are presented, such as in measuring the Newton’s gravitational constant, in testing the weak equivalence principle and the other fundamental applications in physics studies.

Zhongguo kexue. Wulixue Lixue Tianwenxue•Jun 15, 2016•5 citations
The ability to control the quantum degrees of freedom of atoms using laser light opened the way to precision measurements of fundamental physical quantities. I will describe experiments for precision tests of gravitational physics using new quantum devices based on ultracold atoms, namely, atom interferometers and optical clocks. I will report on the measurement of the gravitational constant G with a Rb Raman interferometer, on experiments based on Bloch oscillations of Sr atoms confined in an optical lattice for gravity measurements at small spatial scales, and on new tests of the Einstein equivalence principle. I will also discuss prospects to use atoms as new detectors for gravitational waves and for experiments in space.
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.
Cold-atom interferometer based on stimulated Raman transition is interesting for both fundamental researches and precision measurements. Measuring g, the free fall acceleration, plays an important role in these applications. We describe the theory of atom interferometry, including the evolution of the atomic wavepacket in gravity field, the laser-atom interaction, and the interference of the atomic waves. In this article, we introduce the procedure of measuring g using atom interferometer, the experimental setup, and the tendency of the future development. The works of the domestic and international groups for g measurement are concluded. Furthermore, the noise limits and dominant systematic effects in atom gravimeters are analyzed. The suppressions of the background vibration, the Raman phase noise, and the evaluation of the main systematic effects, are introduced. Finally, the other applications using the atom interferometers for precision measurement are presented, such as in measuring the Newton’s gravitational constant, in testing the weak equivalence principle and the other fundamental applications in physics studies.