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Chinese Physics B

Interference properties of a trapped atom interferometer in two asymmetric optical dipole traps*

Liyong Wang, Xiao Li, Kunpeng Wang, Yinxue Zhao, Ke Di, Jiajia Du, Jiangong Hu

Published Jul 28, 2020• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We investigate interference properties of a trapped atom interferometer where two symmetric optical dipole traps (ODTs) act as the atomic wave-packets splitter and combiner with internal state labelling. After the preparation of initial superposition states, the atomic wave-packet is adiabatically split and moves into two spatially separate asymmetric ODTs. The atomic wave-packets in two ODTs are then adiabatically recombined after a duration of free evolving in traps, completing the interference cycle of this atom interferometer. We show that the interferogram exhibits a series of periodic revivals in interference visibility. Furthermore, the revival period decreases as the asymmetry of two dipole potentials increases. By introducing an echo sequence to the interferometer, we show that while the echo effect is not influenced by the asymmetry of the two ODTs, the onset of periodic revivals changes by the echo sequence. Our study provides an effective method to cancel or compensate the phase shift caused by position and time correlated force.

DOI
10.1088/1674-1056/aba9c9

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We investigate interference properties of a trapped atom interferometer where two symmetric optical dipole traps (ODTs) act as the atomic wave-packets splitter and combiner with internal state labelling. After the preparation of initial superposition states, the atomic wave-packet is adiabatically split and moves into two spatially separate asymmetric ODTs. The atomic wave-packets in two ODTs are then adiabatically recombined after a duration of free evolving in traps, completing the interference cycle of this atom interferometer. We show that the interferogram exhibits a series of periodic revivals in interference visibility. Furthermore, the revival period decreases as the asymmetry of two dipole potentials increases. By introducing an echo sequence to the interferometer, we show that while the echo effect is not influenced by the asymmetry of the two ODTs, the onset of periodic revivals changes by the echo sequence. Our study provides an effective method to cancel or compensate the phase shift caused by position and time correlated force.
We investigate a single-atom interferometer (SAI) in an optical dipole trap (ODT) with photon momentum kicks. An echo sequence is used for the SAI. We find experimentally that interference visibilities of a counter-propagating Raman type SAI decay much faster than the co-propagating case. To understand the underlying mechanism, a wave-packet propagating simulation is developed for the ODT-guided SAI. We show that in state dependent dipole potentials, the coupling between external dynamics and internal states makes the atom evolve in different paths during the interfering process. The acquired momentum from counter-propagating Raman pulses forces the external motional wave packets of two paths be completely separated and the interferometer visibility decays quickly compared to that of the co-propagating Raman pulses process. Meanwhile, the echo interference visibility experiences revival or instantaneous collapse which depends on the π pulse adding time at approximate integer multiples or half integer multiples of the trap period.
A free-oscillation interferometer uses atoms confined in a harmonic trap. Bragg scattering from an off-resonant laser is used to split an atomic wave function into two separated packets. After one or more oscillations in the trap, the wave packets are recombined by a second application of the Bragg laser to close the interferometer. Anharmonicity in the trap potential can lead to a phase shift in the interferometer output. In this paper, analytical expressions for the anharmonic phase are derived at leading order for perturbations of arbitrary power in the position coordinate. The phase generally depends on the initial position and velocity of the atom, which are themselves typically uncertain. This leads to degradation in the interferometer performance, and can be expected to limit the use of a centimeter-scale device to interaction times of about 0.1 s. Methods to improve performance are discussed.
We have studied the effects of spontaneous emission (SE) on a single-state time domain atom interferometer (AI) that uses trapped Rb atoms. The AI uses two standing wave pulses separated by time TTT to produce an echo signal at time 2T2T2T due to interference between momentum states. We find that SE influences both the shape of the echo signal and its periodic time-dependent amplitude in a manner consistent with theoretical predictions. The results show that the time-dependent signal from the AI is related to the effective radiative decay rate of the excited state. We also present results that test theoretical predictions for several properties of the echo formation such as the variation in momentum transfer due to the change in the angle between the traveling wave components of the excitation pulses, strength of the atom-field interaction, and the effect of spatial profile of the excitation beams. These studies are important for realizing precision measurements of the atomic fine structure constant and gravity using this interferometer.
In this paper, we study the dynamics of a trapped atom interferometer with internal state labeling in the presence of interactions. We consider two situations: an atomic clock in which the internal states remain superposed, and an inertial sensor configuration in which they are separated. From the average spin evolution, we deduce the fringe contrast and the phase shift. In the clock configuration, we recover the well-known identical spin rotation effect (ISRE) which can significantly increase the spin coherence time. We also find that the magnitude of the effect depends on the trap geometry in a way that is consistent with our recent experimental results in a clock configuration [M. Dupont-Nivet, R. Demur, C. I. Westbrook, and S. Schwartz, New J. Phys. 20, 043051 (2018)], where ISRE was not observed. In the case of an inertial sensor, we show that despite the spatial separation it is still possible to increase the coherence time by using mean field interactions to counteract asymmetries of the trapping potential.
We have studied the effects of spontaneous emission (SE) on a single-state time domain atom interferometer (AI) that uses trapped Rb atoms. The AI uses two standing wave pulses separated by time TTT to produce an echo signal at time 2T2T2T due to interference between momentum states. We find that SE influences both the shape of the echo signal and its periodic time-dependent amplitude in a manner consistent with theoretical predictions. The results show that the time-dependent signal from the AI is related to the effective radiative decay rate of the excited state. We also present results that test theoretical predictions for several properties of the echo formation such as the variation in momentum transfer due to the change in the angle between the traveling wave components of the excitation pulses, strength of the atom-field interaction, and the effect of spatial profile of the excitation beams. These studies are important for realizing precision measurements of the atomic fine structure constant and gravity using this interferometer.