Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Investigation of inertial sensing using electromagnetically induced transparency

Chang Cang Huang

Published Jan 1, 2019• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Measuring the motion of quantum particles has been playing a significant role in performing high precision inertial sensing and studying fundamental physics.While most of the motion sensing schemes with cold atoms are based on single-particles.In this thesis, a new measuring method of using a collective state of atoms for motion quantum sensing is introduced.Two experiments were demonstrated to investigate its feasibility.One is related to the light-dragging effect in an electromagnetically induced transparent (EIT) cold 85 Rb atomic ensemble.The dragging coefficient F d was enhanced to 1.67 × 10 5 , which was three orders of magnitude better than the previous experiments.With a large enhancement of the dragging effect, we realised an atom-based velocimeter that has a sensitivity of 1 mm/s, which was two orders of magnitude higher than the velocity width of the atomic medium used before.Such a demonstration could pave the way for motion sensing using the collective state of atoms in a room temperature vapour cell or solid-state material.Another experiment is related to the motion sensing in a driven periodic potential.The motion of the atomic ensemble undergoing Bloch oscillation was measured using the light dragging method.In order to have efficient Bloch oscillation of atoms, the first Raman sideband cooling of 85 Rb to pre-cool atomic ensemble close to the recoil temperature (357 nK) was achieved by us.The phase shift measurements showed the linear-like relation to the accelerating time with the data precision 0.00036 rad (0.005 ns, 0.7 mm/s), instead of the stepwise oscillation period τ B .To observe the stepwise motion, it is required to reduce the lattice field intensity and implement the velocity selection technique to select atoms with a narrow velocity width.

DOI
10.32657/10356/83289

Related papers

Large Fizeau’s light-dragging effect in a moving electromagnetically induced transparent medium

Pei-Chen Kuan, Chang Cang Huang, Wei Sheng Chan +2 more

As one of the most influential experiments on the development of modern macroscopic theory from Newtonian mechanics to Einstein's special theory of relativity, the phenomenon of light dragging in a moving medium has been discussed and observed extensively in different types of systems. To have a significant dragging effect, the long duration of light travelling in the medium is preferred. Here we demonstrate a light-dragging experiment in an electromagnetically induced transparent cold atomic ensemble and enhance the dragging effect by at least three orders of magnitude compared with the previous experiments. With a large enhancement of the dragging effect, we realize an atom-based velocimeter that has a sensitivity two orders of magnitude higher than the velocity width of the atomic medium used. Such a demonstration could pave the way for motional sensing using the collective state of atoms in a room temperature vapour cell or solid state material.

arXiv:1610.03203•Nature Communications•Oct 3, 2016•79 citations

Quantum-Enhanced Velocimetry with Doppler-Broadened Atomic Vapor

Zilong Chen, Hong Ming Lim, Chang Cang Huang +2 more

Traditionally, measuring the center-of-mass (c.m.) velocity of an atomic ensemble relies on measuring the Doppler shift of the absorption spectrum of single atoms in the ensemble. Mapping out the velocity distribution of the ensemble is indispensable when determining the c.m. velocity using this technique. As a result, highly sensitive measurements require preparation of an ensemble with a narrow Doppler width. Here, we use a dispersive measurement of light passing through a moving room temperature atomic vapor cell to determine the velocity of the cell in a single shot with a short-term sensitivity of 5.5 μm s^{-1} Hz^{-1/2}. The dispersion of the medium is enhanced by creating quantum interference through an auxiliary transition for the probe light under electromagnetically induced transparency condition. In contrast to measurement of single atoms, this method is based on the collective motion of atoms and can sense the c.m. velocity of an ensemble without knowing its velocity distribution. Our results improve the previous measurements by 3 orders of magnitude and can be used to design a compact motional sensor based on thermal atoms.

arXiv:2003.03491•Physical Review Letters•Mar 6, 2020•14 citations

Probing Bloch oscillations using a slow-light sensor

Pei-Chen Kuan, Chang Cang Huang, Shau-Yu Lan

Abstract We implement slow-light under electromagnetically induced transparency condition to measure the motion of cold atoms in an optical lattice undergoing Bloch oscillation. The motion of atoms is mapped out through the phase shift of light without perturbing the external and internal state of the atoms. Our results can be used to construct a continuous motional sensor of cold atoms.

Advanced Optical Technologies•Sep 7, 2019•0 citations

Imaging Moving Atoms by Holographically Reconstructing the Dragged Slow Light

Yuzhuo Wang, Jian Zhao, Xing Huang +6 more

The propagation of light in moving media is dragged by atomic motion. The light-drag effect can be dramatically enhanced by reducing the group velocity with electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). We develop a systematic procedure to accurately reconstruct the complex wavefront of the slow light with single-shot measurements, enabling precise, photon shot-noise-limited spectroscopic measurements of atomic response across EIT even in the presence of generic atomic number fluctuations. Applying the technique to an expanding cloud of cold atoms, we demonstrate simultaneous inference of the atomic density distribution and the velocity field from the complex imaging data. This inline imaging technique may assist a wide range of cold-atom experiments to access spectroscopic and phase-space information with in situ and minimally destructive measurements.

arXiv:2105.14832•Physical Review Applied•Jul 26, 2022•6 citations

Dynamics of matter waves undergoing Bloch oscillations in a ring cavity

Lucas Borges

The work developed in this thesis investigate the dynamics of ultracold atoms trapped in a ring cavity and undergoing Bloch oscillations due to the influence of a one-dimensional vertical optical lattice and of the gravitational force.In this configuration, the atoms collectively scatter light from the pump into the copropagating cavity mode, which then leads to a self-consistent grating of the matter: this mechanism was coined collective atomic recoil lasing (CARL).Such interaction between atomic motion and cavity modes provides a possible continuous and non-destructive method to monitor the Bloch oscillations dynamics, which could be implemented in atomic gravimeters.This dissertation investigates the fundamental problem of dissipation effects due to spontaneous emission of the atoms, which is responsible for a suppression of the Bloch oscillations signatures on the light modes.We also study a possible solution for this issue by including a third atomic level in the configuration to explore a probable dissipation reduction due to the phenomenon of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT).

•Mar 10, 2021•0 citations

Concept for motion sensing using atomic optical memories

Arash Ahmadi, Yağız Murat, Özgür Esat Müstecaplıoğlu +3 more

Abstract By harnessing optical memories based on electromagnetically induced transparency in warm vapors of gaseous alkali metals and cold atomic clouds, this article presents new methods for motion sensing. The proposed scheme for velocimetry can substantially increase the sensitivity of some recent works based on the light-dragging effect in a moving medium, and on the other hand, our proposal, when realized using cold atoms, opens new research questions with regard to limits of light storage in cold atomic clouds. Ultimately, a detailed experimental setup is presented for the realization of the velocimetry scheme using stopped light, which includes considerations for the choice of the medium, laser configuration and control. By investigating the limits of optical memories in motion sensing applications, this research opens up new avenues for employing optical memories beyond applications in quantum information science.

Research Directions Quantum Technologies•Dec 13, 2024•3 citations
Measuring the motion of quantum particles has been playing a significant role in performing high precision inertial sensing and studying fundamental physics.While most of the motion sensing schemes with cold atoms are based on single-particles.In this thesis, a new measuring method of using a collective state of atoms for motion quantum sensing is introduced.Two experiments were demonstrated to investigate its feasibility.One is related to the light-dragging effect in an electromagnetically induced transparent (EIT) cold 85 Rb atomic ensemble.The dragging coefficient F d was enhanced to 1.67 × 10 5 , which was three orders of magnitude better than the previous experiments.With a large enhancement of the dragging effect, we realised an atom-based velocimeter that has a sensitivity of 1 mm/s, which was two orders of magnitude higher than the velocity width of the atomic medium used before.Such a demonstration could pave the way for motion sensing using the collective state of atoms in a room temperature vapour cell or solid-state material.Another experiment is related to the motion sensing in a driven periodic potential.The motion of the atomic ensemble undergoing Bloch oscillation was measured using the light dragging method.In order to have efficient Bloch oscillation of atoms, the first Raman sideband cooling of 85 Rb to pre-cool atomic ensemble close to the recoil temperature (357 nK) was achieved by us.The phase shift measurements showed the linear-like relation to the accelerating time with the data precision 0.00036 rad (0.005 ns, 0.7 mm/s), instead of the stepwise oscillation period τ B .To observe the stepwise motion, it is required to reduce the lattice field intensity and implement the velocity selection technique to select atoms with a narrow velocity width.
As one of the most influential experiments on the development of modern macroscopic theory from Newtonian mechanics to Einstein's special theory of relativity, the phenomenon of light dragging in a moving medium has been discussed and observed extensively in different types of systems. To have a significant dragging effect, the long duration of light travelling in the medium is preferred. Here we demonstrate a light-dragging experiment in an electromagnetically induced transparent cold atomic ensemble and enhance the dragging effect by at least three orders of magnitude compared with the previous experiments. With a large enhancement of the dragging effect, we realize an atom-based velocimeter that has a sensitivity two orders of magnitude higher than the velocity width of the atomic medium used. Such a demonstration could pave the way for motional sensing using the collective state of atoms in a room temperature vapour cell or solid state material.
Traditionally, measuring the center-of-mass (c.m.) velocity of an atomic ensemble relies on measuring the Doppler shift of the absorption spectrum of single atoms in the ensemble. Mapping out the velocity distribution of the ensemble is indispensable when determining the c.m. velocity using this technique. As a result, highly sensitive measurements require preparation of an ensemble with a narrow Doppler width. Here, we use a dispersive measurement of light passing through a moving room temperature atomic vapor cell to determine the velocity of the cell in a single shot with a short-term sensitivity of 5.5 μm s^{-1} Hz^{-1/2}. The dispersion of the medium is enhanced by creating quantum interference through an auxiliary transition for the probe light under electromagnetically induced transparency condition. In contrast to measurement of single atoms, this method is based on the collective motion of atoms and can sense the c.m. velocity of an ensemble without knowing its velocity distribution. Our results improve the previous measurements by 3 orders of magnitude and can be used to design a compact motional sensor based on thermal atoms.
The propagation of light in moving media is dragged by atomic motion. The light-drag effect can be dramatically enhanced by reducing the group velocity with electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). We develop a systematic procedure to accurately reconstruct the complex wavefront of the slow light with single-shot measurements, enabling precise, photon shot-noise-limited spectroscopic measurements of atomic response across EIT even in the presence of generic atomic number fluctuations. Applying the technique to an expanding cloud of cold atoms, we demonstrate simultaneous inference of the atomic density distribution and the velocity field from the complex imaging data. This inline imaging technique may assist a wide range of cold-atom experiments to access spectroscopic and phase-space information with in situ and minimally destructive measurements.
The work developed in this thesis investigate the dynamics of ultracold atoms trapped in a ring cavity and undergoing Bloch oscillations due to the influence of a one-dimensional vertical optical lattice and of the gravitational force.In this configuration, the atoms collectively scatter light from the pump into the copropagating cavity mode, which then leads to a self-consistent grating of the matter: this mechanism was coined collective atomic recoil lasing (CARL).Such interaction between atomic motion and cavity modes provides a possible continuous and non-destructive method to monitor the Bloch oscillations dynamics, which could be implemented in atomic gravimeters.This dissertation investigates the fundamental problem of dissipation effects due to spontaneous emission of the atoms, which is responsible for a suppression of the Bloch oscillations signatures on the light modes.We also study a possible solution for this issue by including a third atomic level in the configuration to explore a probable dissipation reduction due to the phenomenon of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT).
Abstract By harnessing optical memories based on electromagnetically induced transparency in warm vapors of gaseous alkali metals and cold atomic clouds, this article presents new methods for motion sensing. The proposed scheme for velocimetry can substantially increase the sensitivity of some recent works based on the light-dragging effect in a moving medium, and on the other hand, our proposal, when realized using cold atoms, opens new research questions with regard to limits of light storage in cold atomic clouds. Ultimately, a detailed experimental setup is presented for the realization of the velocimetry scheme using stopped light, which includes considerations for the choice of the medium, laser configuration and control. By investigating the limits of optical memories in motion sensing applications, this research opens up new avenues for employing optical memories beyond applications in quantum information science.