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Physical Review A

Momentum-resolved detection for high-precision Bragg atom interferometry

Yuan Sheng Cheng, Ke Zhang, Lele Chen, Tao Zhang, Wenjie Xu, Xiao‐Chun Duan, Min-Kang Zhou, Zhong-Kun Hu

Published Oct 9, 2018• 15 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We demonstrate a momentum-resolved detection technique in a sensitive Bragg atom interferometer, where the populations of the atomic final states are measured by the Raman spectroscopy method. This method avoids cross-couplings due to the space overlapping of atomic states and significantly increases the fringe visibility without requiring spatial separation. Thanks to this detection method, we are able to achieve the high fringe visibility of greater than $80%$ at an interrogation time of $T=1$ ms. With $T=250$ ms and a visibility of $10%$, it shows an improved resolution for gravity measurements at the level of $7\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}10}g$ in an integration time of 1000 s. This work can be applied in developing compact portable sensing devices or improving the precision of tests on fundamental physics.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.98.043611

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We demonstrate a momentum-resolved detection technique in a sensitive Bragg atom interferometer, where the populations of the atomic final states are measured by the Raman spectroscopy method. This method avoids cross-couplings due to the space overlapping of atomic states and significantly increases the fringe visibility without requiring spatial separation. Thanks to this detection method, we are able to achieve the high fringe visibility of greater than 8080%80 at an interrogation time of T=1T=1T=1 ms. With T=250T=250T=250 ms and a visibility of 1010%10, it shows an improved resolution for gravity measurements at the level of 7\ifmmode×\else\texttimes\fi10\ensuremath−10g7\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}10}g7\ifmmode×\else\texttimes\fi10\ensuremath−10g in an integration time of 1000 s. This work can be applied in developing compact portable sensing devices or improving the precision of tests on fundamental physics.
We present a precision gravimeter based on coherent Bragg diffraction of freely falling cold atoms. Traditionally, atomic gravimeters have used stimulated Raman transitions to separate clouds in momentum space by driving transitions between two internal atomic states. Bragg interferometers utilize only a single internal state, and can therefore be less susceptible to environmental perturbations. Here we show that atoms extracted from a magneto-optical trap using an accelerating optical lattice are a suitable source for a Bragg atom interferometer, allowing efficient beamsplitting and subsequent separation of momentum states for detection. Despite the inherently multi-state nature of atom diffraction, we are able to build a Mach–Zehnder interferometer using Bragg scattering which achieves a sensitivity to the gravitational acceleration of Δ g / g = 2.7 × 10 −9 with an integration time of 1000 s. The device can also be converted to a gravity gradiometer by a simple modification of the light pulse sequence.
A method for mitigating the readout delay characteristic of Bragg-based atom interferometry is presented, utilizing an asymmetric Mach-Zehnder interferometer sequence to generate spatial fringes that are read out while still overlapped. The time of flight after the final beamsplitter is engineered to facilitate constructive overlap of the fringes on the output states. A noise analysis performed using a precision atom interferometer is presented, comparing the traditional separated symmetric scheme with that of the separated and overlapped asymmetric scheme showing no significant increase in short-term phase noise.
We demonstrate a novel scheme for Raman-pulse and Bragg-pulse atom interferometry based on the 5S−6P5\mathrm{S} - 6\mathrm{P}5S−6P blue transitions of 87^{87}87Rb that provides an increase by a factor ∼2\sim 2∼2 of the interferometer phase due to accelerations with respect to the commonly used infrared transition at 780 nm. A narrow-linewidth laser system generating more than 1 W of light in the 420-422 nm range was developed for this purpose. Used as a cold-atom gravity gradiometer, our Raman interferometer attains a stability to differential acceleration measurements of 1×10−81\times10^{-8}1×10−8 ggg at 1 s and 2×10−102\times 10^{-10}2×10−10 ggg after 2000 s of integration time. When operated on first-order Bragg transitions, the interferometer shows a stability of 6×10−86\times10^{-8}6×10−8 g at 1 s, averaging to 1×10−91\times10^{-9}1×10−9 g after 2000 s of integration time. The instrument sensitivity, currently limited by the noise due to spontaneous emission, can be further improved by increasing the laser power and the detuning from the atomic resonance. The present scheme is attractive for high-precision experiments as, in particular, for the determination of the Newtonian gravitational constant.
The basic physical principles behind atom interferometers based on optical pulses of light are summarized. This method of atom interferometry is based on measurements in the time and frequency domain and is an inherently precise measurement technique. After a brief discussion of some of the important technical requirements for good fringe accuracy and visibility, we describe an interferometer that has measured the acceleration of an atom due to gravity with a resolution better than one part in 1010. We project that the absolute accuracy of our measurement will be of the order of a few parts in 109. We also describe an interferometer experiment that measures the recoil energy shift of an atom when it absorbs a photon. When combined with the value of the Rydberg constant and the mass ratios MCs/mp and mp/me, one can obtain a value for α, the fine structure constant. Currently, we have an experimental resolution Δα/α ∼ 10-8 after two hours of integration time and are studying the systematic effects that affect the measurement.
We demonstrate a novel scheme for Raman-pulse and Bragg-pulse atom interferometry based on the 5S-6P blue transitions of 87Rb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb that provides an increase by a factor $\ensuremath{\sim}2$ of the interferometer phase due to accelerations with respect to the commonly used infrared transition at 780 nm. A narrow-linewidth laser system generating more than 1 W of light in the 420--422 nm range was developed for this purpose. Used as a cold-atom gravity gradiometer, our Raman interferometer attains a stability to differential acceleration measurements of $1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}8}\text{ }\text{ }g$ at 1 s and $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}10}\text{ }\text{ }g$ after 2000 s of integration time. When operated on first-order Bragg transitions, the interferometer shows a stability of $6\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}8}\text{ }\text{ }g$ at 1 s, averaging to $1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}9}\text{ }\text{ }g$ after 2000 s of integration time. The instrument sensitivity, currently limited by the noise due to spontaneous emission, can be further improved by increasing the laser power and the detuning from the atomic resonance. The present scheme is attractive for high-precision experiments as, in particular, for the determination of the Newtonian gravitational constant.
Quasi-Bragg regime is a good compromise for large-momentum-transfer atom interferometry, allowing for scaling up the interferometric area, while constraining the population of unwanted states. Separation of momentum states via standard time of flight methods, however, can be challenging when using laser-cooled atoms, rather than ultracold atoms with sub-recoil velocity distribution. To overcome this limit, we use Raman spectroscopy for stroboscopic sampling of the atomic state evolution in momentum space during the interrogating laser pulses. We quantitatively characterize atom optics employing two-photon (2___k) and multi-photon (6___k) Bragg transitions, the latter being optionally enhanced with optimal control protocol. We closely match the observed dynamics of the atomic state with simulations. Finally, we perform momentum spectroscopy of the output states in a 6___k Bragg gravimeter.