Atom interferometers

Frank A. Narducci

Frank A. Narducci, Adam T. Black, John H. Burke

We review the field of atom interferometer inertial sensors. We begin by reviewing the path integral formulation of atom interferometers and then specialize the treatment to light-pulse atom interferometers and, in particular, gravimeters and gyroscopes. The bulk of the article focuses on the most common type of atom interferometer – the light-pulse interferometer, where the atom optics are composed of light pulses. Our article mainly focuses on a review of advances that aid in the practical implementation of atom interferometers toward gravimetry and inertial navigation. To that end, we develop a navigation model that aids in the connection of parameters and performance of atom interferometers to actual quantities of interest to the navigation community. Practical considerations of atomic inertial sensors, including dynamic range, bandwidth, dead time, and cross-coupling effects are discussed, before we review the field of accelerometer and gyroscope atom interferometers. Finally, we review advances in trapped-atom interferometers.

Franck Pereira dos Santos

Atsuo Morinaga, Y. Omi

Summary form only given. Atom interferometers are expected to be used as sensitive detectors in a variety of precision measurements; several versions were presented for various purposes until now. We have developed an atom interferometer comprised of a Ca thermal atomic beam and three copropagating traveling laser beams. The interferometer is a simple single interferometer and is expected to be of higher visibility than the atom interferometer with four laser beams.

Guglielmo Maria Tino

Dennis Lorek, Cláus Lämmerzahl, Andreas Wicht

We present an atom interferometer that differs from common atom interferometers as it is not based on the spatial splitting of electronic wave functions, but on orienting atoms in space. As an example we present how an orientational atom interferometer based on highly charged hydrogen--like atoms is affected by gravitational waves. We show that a monochromatic gravitational wave will cause a frequency shift that scales with the binding energy of the system rather than with its physical dimension. For a gravitational wave amplitude of $h={10}^{\ensuremath{-}23}$ the frequency shift is of the order of $110 \ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{Hz}$ for an atom interferometer based on a $91$-fold charged uranium ion. A frequency difference of this size can be resolved by current atom interferometers in $1 \mathrm{s}$.