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

Physical Review A

Sensitive quantum tiltmeter with nanoradian resolution

Jie Liu, Wenjie Xu, Cheng Zhang, Qin Luo, Zhong-Kun Hu, Min-Kang Zhou

Published Jan 21, 2022• 9 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Precision tilt measurements are becoming more and more important in fundamental research and crustal deformation observations. A quantum tiltmeter based on atom interferometry could be among the most stable tiltmeters in theory but is currently constrained by the low resolution. Here, we demonstrate an extremely sensitive quantum tiltmeter with the configuration of a Mach-Zehnder-type atom interferometer for precisely measuring the crustal deformation. The scheme of two pairs of Raman beams sharing one retroreflection mirror effectively increases the scale factor, making this quantum tiltmeter achieve a sensitivity of $40\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\mathrm{nrad}/{\mathrm{Hz}}^{1/2}$ and a resolution of 1.8 nrad within an integration time of 640 s for tilt measurements, which represents an improvement on the sensitivity by a factor of 32 comparing to previous work. The Earth tilt tide lasting for 63 h has been observed with high signal-to-noise ratio by our quantum tiltmeter, which paves the way to study the crustal deformation with a quantum sensor.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.105.013316

Related papers

Quantum tiltmeter with atom interferometry

Wenjie Xu, Min-Kang Zhou, Miaomiao Zhao +2 more

Matter-wave sensors with cold atoms have progressed tremendously over recent decades. We report a sensitive tilt sensor based on quantum technology employing cold atoms. This quantum tiltmeter is constructed with the configuration of a Ramsey-Bordé atom interferometer, achieving an improvement of nearly three orders of magnitude for tilt measurements with a short-term sensitivity of 1.3μrad/Hz1/2, with resolution down to 55nrad at an integration time of 1000 s. The deformation of the Earth's surface has been monitored in a continuous run of 31 h, showing that a quantum tiltmeter can be applied to record tilt tides and can be an valuable sensor in geophysics and various scientific facilities.Received 14 June 2017DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.96.063606©2017 American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasAtom interferometryMetrologyAtomic, Molecular & OpticalGeneral PhysicsGravitation, Cosmology & Astrophysics

Physical Review A•Dec 5, 2017•24 citations

High resolution rotation sensor based on cold Rubidium atoms

Michael Gilowski, Christian Schubert, Thijs Wendrich +4 more

We report on our compact transportable cold atom inertial sensor for precision sensing of rotations. The sensor consists of a dual Mach-Zehnder type atom interferometer operating with laser-cooled87Rb. Raman processes are employed to coherently manipulate the matter waves. We present the latest inertial sensitive interferometer measurements and discuss the road map to reach the full potential of the sensor featuring a sensitivity of a few nrad/s/radic(Hz).

Joint Conference of the European Frequency and Time Forum and IEEE International Frequency Control Symposium (EFTF/IFCS)•Apr 1, 2009•3 citations

Zero-velocity atom interferometry using a retroreflected frequency-chirped laser

Isadora Perrin, Jeanne Bernard, Yannick Bidel +5 more

Atom interferometry using stimulated Raman transitions in a retroreflected configuration is the first choice in high-precision measurements because it provides low phase noise, a high-quality Raman wave front, and a simple experimental setup. However, it cannot be used for atoms at zero velocity because two pairs of Raman lasers are simultaneously resonant. Here we report a method which allows this degeneracy to be lifted by using a frequency chirp on the Raman lasers. Using this technique, we realize a Mach-Zehnder atom interferometer hybridized with a force balanced accelerometer which provides horizontal acceleration measurements with a short-term sensitivity of $3.2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}5}\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}{\mathrm{m}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{s}}^{\ensuremath{-}2}/\sqrt{\text{Hz}}$. This technique could be used for multiaxis inertial sensors, tiltmeters, or atom interferometry in a microgravity environment.

arXiv:1907.04403•Physical Review A•Nov 21, 2019•24 citations

Composite-Light-Pulse Technique for High-Precision Atom Interferometry

Peter Berg, Sven Abend, Gunnar Tackmann +6 more

We realize beam splitters and mirrors for atom waves by employing a sequence of light pulses rather than individual ones. In this way we can tailor atom interferometers with improved sensitivity and accuracy. We demonstrate our method of composite pulses by creating a symmetric matter-wave interferometer which combines the advantages of conventional Bragg- and Raman-type concepts. This feature leads to an interferometer with a high immunity to technical noise allowing us to devise a large-area Sagnac gyroscope yielding a phase shift of 6.5 rad due to the Earth's rotation. With this device we achieve a rotation rate precision of 120 nrad s(-1) Hz(-1/2) and determine the Earth's rotation rate with a relative uncertainty of 1.2%.

Physical Review Letters•Feb 9, 2015•195 citations

Multiaxis atom interferometry with a single-diode laser and a pyramidal magneto-optical trap

Xiaojing Wu, Fei Zi, Jordan Dudley +3 more

Atom interferometry has become one of the most powerful technologies for precision measurements. To develop simple, precise, and versatile atom interferometers for inertial sensing, we demonstrate an atom interferometer measuring acceleration, rotation, and inclination by pointing Raman beams toward individual faces of a pyramidal mirror. Only a single diode laser is used for all functions, including atom trapping, interferometry, and detection. Efficient Doppler-sensitive Raman transitions are achieved without the velocity selecting the atom sample, and with zero differential AC Stark shift between the cesium hyperfine ground states, increasing signal-to-noise and suppressing systematic effects. We measure gravity along two axes (vertical and 45$^\circ$ to the vertical), rotation, and inclination with sensitivities of 6$\,μ$m/s$^2/\sqrt{\rm Hz}$, 300$\,μ$rad/s/$\sqrt{\rm Hz}$, and 4$\,μ$rad/$\sqrt{\rm Hz}$, respectively. This work paves the way toward deployable multiaxis atom interferometers for geodesy, geology, or inertial navigation.

arXiv:1707.08693•Optica•Dec 19, 2017•108 citations

Demonstration of an ultrahigh-sensitivity atom-interferometry absolute gravimeter

Zhong-Kun Hu, Bu-Liang Sun, Xiao‐Chun Duan +5 more

We present an ultrahigh-sensitivity gravimeter based on an ${}^{87}$Rb atom interferometer using stimulated Raman transitions. Compared with our previous work, a two-dimensional magneto-optical trap is added in the new gravimeter to increase the atom number and improve the detection signal-to-noise ratio, and a better optical phase-locked loop system is used to reduce the phase noise of Raman beams. Benefiting from these efforts and the excellent performance of the active vibration isolator, a short-term sensitivity of about 4.2 $\ensuremath{\mu}\text{Gal}/\sqrt{\text{Hz}}$ ($1\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{Gal}=1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}8}$ $\text{m}/{\text{s}}^{2}$) is reached, which improves the sensitivity by a factor of 2 compared with the former best reported value. By a modulation experiment, we further indicate that the residual vibration noise contribution is about 1.2 $\ensuremath{\mu}\text{Gal}/\sqrt{\text{Hz}}$, which implies a possible improvement over the present absolute gravity measurement level by about one order of magnitude. Moreover, we demonstrate a calibration experiment to directly evaluate the sub-$\ensuremath{\mu}$Gal resolution of our gravimeter.

Physical Review A•Oct 8, 2013•403 citations
Precision tilt measurements are becoming more and more important in fundamental research and crustal deformation observations. A quantum tiltmeter based on atom interferometry could be among the most stable tiltmeters in theory but is currently constrained by the low resolution. Here, we demonstrate an extremely sensitive quantum tiltmeter with the configuration of a Mach-Zehnder-type atom interferometer for precisely measuring the crustal deformation. The scheme of two pairs of Raman beams sharing one retroreflection mirror effectively increases the scale factor, making this quantum tiltmeter achieve a sensitivity of 40nrad/Hz1/240\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\mathrm{nrad}/{\mathrm{Hz}}^{1/2}40nrad/Hz1/2 and a resolution of 1.8 nrad within an integration time of 640 s for tilt measurements, which represents an improvement on the sensitivity by a factor of 32 comparing to previous work. The Earth tilt tide lasting for 63 h has been observed with high signal-to-noise ratio by our quantum tiltmeter, which paves the way to study the crustal deformation with a quantum sensor.
Matter-wave sensors with cold atoms have progressed tremendously over recent decades. We report a sensitive tilt sensor based on quantum technology employing cold atoms. This quantum tiltmeter is constructed with the configuration of a Ramsey-Bordé atom interferometer, achieving an improvement of nearly three orders of magnitude for tilt measurements with a short-term sensitivity of 1.3μrad/Hz1/2, with resolution down to 55nrad at an integration time of 1000 s. The deformation of the Earth's surface has been monitored in a continuous run of 31 h, showing that a quantum tiltmeter can be applied to record tilt tides and can be an valuable sensor in geophysics and various scientific facilities.Received 14 June 2017DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.96.063606©2017 American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasAtom interferometryMetrologyAtomic, Molecular & OpticalGeneral PhysicsGravitation, Cosmology & Astrophysics
Atom interferometry using stimulated Raman transitions in a retroreflected configuration is the first choice in high-precision measurements because it provides low phase noise, a high-quality Raman wave front, and a simple experimental setup. However, it cannot be used for atoms at zero velocity because two pairs of Raman lasers are simultaneously resonant. Here we report a method which allows this degeneracy to be lifted by using a frequency chirp on the Raman lasers. Using this technique, we realize a Mach-Zehnder atom interferometer hybridized with a force balanced accelerometer which provides horizontal acceleration measurements with a short-term sensitivity of $3.2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}5}\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}{\mathrm{m}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{s}}^{\ensuremath{-}2}/\sqrt{\text{Hz}}$. This technique could be used for multiaxis inertial sensors, tiltmeters, or atom interferometry in a microgravity environment.
We realize beam splitters and mirrors for atom waves by employing a sequence of light pulses rather than individual ones. In this way we can tailor atom interferometers with improved sensitivity and accuracy. We demonstrate our method of composite pulses by creating a symmetric matter-wave interferometer which combines the advantages of conventional Bragg- and Raman-type concepts. This feature leads to an interferometer with a high immunity to technical noise allowing us to devise a large-area Sagnac gyroscope yielding a phase shift of 6.5 rad due to the Earth's rotation. With this device we achieve a rotation rate precision of 120 nrad s(-1) Hz(-1/2) and determine the Earth's rotation rate with a relative uncertainty of 1.2%.
Atom interferometry has become one of the most powerful technologies for precision measurements. To develop simple, precise, and versatile atom interferometers for inertial sensing, we demonstrate an atom interferometer measuring acceleration, rotation, and inclination by pointing Raman beams toward individual faces of a pyramidal mirror. Only a single diode laser is used for all functions, including atom trapping, interferometry, and detection. Efficient Doppler-sensitive Raman transitions are achieved without the velocity selecting the atom sample, and with zero differential AC Stark shift between the cesium hyperfine ground states, increasing signal-to-noise and suppressing systematic effects. We measure gravity along two axes (vertical and 45∘^\circ∘ to the vertical), rotation, and inclination with sensitivities of 6 μ\,μμm/s2/Hz^2/\sqrt{\rm Hz}2/Hz​, 300 μ\,μμrad/s/Hz\sqrt{\rm Hz}Hz​, and 4 μ\,μμrad/Hz\sqrt{\rm Hz}Hz​, respectively. This work paves the way toward deployable multiaxis atom interferometers for geodesy, geology, or inertial navigation.
We present an ultrahigh-sensitivity gravimeter based on an 87{}^{87}87Rb atom interferometer using stimulated Raman transitions. Compared with our previous work, a two-dimensional magneto-optical trap is added in the new gravimeter to increase the atom number and improve the detection signal-to-noise ratio, and a better optical phase-locked loop system is used to reduce the phase noise of Raman beams. Benefiting from these efforts and the excellent performance of the active vibration isolator, a short-term sensitivity of about 4.2 $\ensuremath{\mu}\text{Gal}/\sqrt{\text{Hz}}$ ($1\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{Gal}=1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}8}$ m/s2\text{m}/{\text{s}}^{2}m/s2) is reached, which improves the sensitivity by a factor of 2 compared with the former best reported value. By a modulation experiment, we further indicate that the residual vibration noise contribution is about 1.2 $\ensuremath{\mu}\text{Gal}/\sqrt{\text{Hz}}$, which implies a possible improvement over the present absolute gravity measurement level by about one order of magnitude. Moreover, we demonstrate a calibration experiment to directly evaluate the sub-$\ensuremath{\mu}$Gal resolution of our gravimeter.