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

Journal of the Optical Society of America A

Effect of an aperture in atomic gravimetry

J. M. Cervantes, E. Gómez

Published Apr 1, 2024• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

There is a continuous interest in shrinking the dimensions of portable atomic gravimeters. This inevitably ends up truncating the Gaussian wings of the excitation laser beams whose effect has not been properly quantified yet. The diffraction pattern created from this aperture creates ripples in the wavefront in both the phase and the intensity. We calculate the shift in the measured value of an atomic gravimeter introduced by the phase variations in the wavefront. Fortunately, this shift has a Gaussian decay with the aperture size. For extended clouds, we observe a reduction of the effect thanks to an averaging over transverse positions with different values of the shift. Surprisingly, we found that the intensity variations also introduce an important correction to the photon recoil, which contributes at about the same level as the previous shift in the measurement of the gravitational acceleration. Our results should help decide how small an apparatus can be to guarantee a particular accuracy.

DOI
10.1364/josaa.503050

Related papers

Effect of the Gaussian distribution of both atomic cloud and laser intensity in an atom gravimeter

Min-Kang Zhou, Lele Chen, Qin Luo +3 more

The mechanism of light-shift-related uncertainty in an atom-interferometry gravimeter is investigated systematically, which arises from the inhomogeneous intensity of Raman beams and the Gaussian distribution of an atomic cloud. Experiments using atom interferometry are performed to verify this systematic error by directly modulating the integration time $T$ and the intensity ratio of Raman laser beams. Using our method, the uncertainty of gravity measurements contributed by the single-photon light shift in an atom gravimeter can be corrected to a $\mathrm{sub}\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{Gal}\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}(1\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{Gal}=1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}8}\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\mathrm{m}/{\mathrm{s}}^{2})$ level.

Physical Review A•May 19, 2016•17 citations

T –3-Shift in a Short-Baseline Atomic Interferometer–Gravimeter

D.N. Kapusta, A E Bonert, Andrei Goncharov +6 more

This paper presents the first experimental observation and investigation of a lineshape-asymmetry-caused shift (LACS) in a short-baseline atomic interferometer–gravimeter. It is shown that this shift scales inversely with the cube of the free evolution time, $$ \propto {\kern 1pt} {{T}^{{ - 3}}}$$ , and can lead to a noticeable systematic error in the measured value of the gravitational acceleration $$g$$ at the level of 0.1–1 mGal ( $$T \approx $$ milliseconds). The obtained results are in good agreement with our previous theoretical studies and highlight the importance of accounting for LACS in high-precision absolute measurements of $$g$$ in compact atomic gravimeters.

arXiv:2603.21202•Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics Letters•Mar 1, 2026•0 citations

High-Sensitivity Absolute Atomic Gravimeter

Christine Guerlin, Tristan Farah, Anne Louchet-Chauvet +2 more

Cold atom free-fall interferometers now realize state-of-the-art precision inertial sensors, opening perspectives towards embedded devices for applications and fundamental physics tests on earth and in space. The acceleration of gravity can be measured in a stimulated Raman transition interferometer where the acceleration under gravity of a cloud of freely falling atoms is sensed by three Raman pulses allowing to split, reflect and interfere atomic wave packets [1]. The gravimeter developped at SYRTE allows to measure the acceleration of gravity at state-of-the-art performances compared to the best classical absolute gravimeters, with a sensitivity of 2×10−8g over 1s and an exactitude of 5×10−9 g [2]. This exactitude is currently limited by wavefront aberrations of the lasers, sampled by residual transverse trajectories of the molasse-cooled cloud over the free fall. Unbalanced transverse trajectories will also bias the measurement due to Coriolis effect [3]. We will investigate the use of a colder atom source to reduce these systematic effects, by implementing Bose-Einstein condensation of the initial cloud, allowing both better position control and better focusing of our source.

Research in Optical Sciences•Jan 1, 2012•0 citations

Effective velocity distribution in an atom gravimeter: Effect of the convolution with the response of the detection

Tristan Farah, Pierre Gillot, Bing Cheng +3 more

We present here a detailed study of the influence of the transverse motion of the atoms in a free-fall gravimeter. By implementing Raman selection in the horizontal directions at the beginning of the atoms' free fall, we characterize the effective velocity distribution, i.e., the velocity distribution of the detected atom, as a function of the laser cooling and trapping parameters. In particular, we show that the response of the detection induces a pronounced asymmetry of this effective velocity distribution that depends not only on the imbalance between molasses beams but also on the initial position of the displaced atomic sample. This convolution with the detection has a strong influence on the averaging of the bias due to Coriolis acceleration. The present study allows a fairly good understanding of results previously published in [New J. Phys. 13, 065025 (2011)], where the mean phase shift due to Coriolis acceleration was found to have a sign different from that expected.

arXiv:1406.5998•Physical Review A•Aug 6, 2014•27 citations

Compensation of motion-induced atom-laser misalignment errors in an atom-interferometry gravimeter

Yishu Yang, Yukun Luo, Fufang Xu

Atomic gravimeter based on atom interferometry has become a hotspot of quantum optics applications in recent years and shown rapid progress in static-scene measurements. Improving the adaptability on dynamic scenes is an important development direction, which calls for in-depth research on various errors caused by carrier motions. This work focuses on the error evaluation and compensation of motion-induced misalignment between the Raman laser beam and the atomic trajectory. A theoretical analysis framework is formed to investigate the atom-laser misalignment errors by considering both the inhomogeneous Raman laser intensity and wavefront phase distributions in a dynamic perspective. The influence on fringe contrast and phase shift in an atom-interferometry gravimeter is discussed. Quantitative study has been done with different motion types, motion rates as well as random motion noises. The results show oscillational decay trends of fringe contrast with the motion amplitude and the increased significance of rotationally antisymmetric Zernike terms in dynamical Raman wavefront phase shift evaluation. Strong correlations can be found between the misalignment errors and the experimental parameters. A compensation method is proposed accordingly via quickly adjusting the Raman intensity or pulse duration and comprehensive Raman wavefront characterization. Both amplitude and phase corrections are achieved. The analytical approach and results provide a practical solution for further advances of atom-interferometry under harsh motional conditions.

Applied Optics and Photonics China (AOPC)•Dec 13, 2024•0 citations

Evaluation of a frequency-dependent phase shift in chirped Raman lasers for atom gravimeters

Yaoyao Xu, Qingsong Wang, Jiafeng Cui +6 more

Light-pulse atom gravimetry has emerged as a powerful technique for precisely measuring absolute gravitational acceleration. Raman lasers are commonly used in this technique to coherently manipulate the atomic wave packet, of which the effective frequency is chirped continuously to compensate for the Doppler shift. In this study we investigate an additional phase shift in the Raman lasers that arises due to the frequency chirp. We directly measure this phase shift by recording the beat signal of the Raman lasers with a high-speed oscilloscope, providing an independent evaluation of the resultant error in atom gravimeters caused by this phase shift. Concurrently, we detect the influence of the additional phase shift on gravity measurements using our atom gravimeter, and the results are in good agreement with the independent evaluation. Notably, there may still be a residual error at the microgal level when performing differential measurements by reversing the direction of the effective wave vector of the Raman lasers. We propose that this residual error can in principle be eliminated by selecting the same chirp frequency range for both directions in the differential measurement.

Physical Review A•Dec 19, 2024•2 citations
There is a continuous interest in shrinking the dimensions of portable atomic gravimeters. This inevitably ends up truncating the Gaussian wings of the excitation laser beams whose effect has not been properly quantified yet. The diffraction pattern created from this aperture creates ripples in the wavefront in both the phase and the intensity. We calculate the shift in the measured value of an atomic gravimeter introduced by the phase variations in the wavefront. Fortunately, this shift has a Gaussian decay with the aperture size. For extended clouds, we observe a reduction of the effect thanks to an averaging over transverse positions with different values of the shift. Surprisingly, we found that the intensity variations also introduce an important correction to the photon recoil, which contributes at about the same level as the previous shift in the measurement of the gravitational acceleration. Our results should help decide how small an apparatus can be to guarantee a particular accuracy.
The mechanism of light-shift-related uncertainty in an atom-interferometry gravimeter is investigated systematically, which arises from the inhomogeneous intensity of Raman beams and the Gaussian distribution of an atomic cloud. Experiments using atom interferometry are performed to verify this systematic error by directly modulating the integration time TTT and the intensity ratio of Raman laser beams. Using our method, the uncertainty of gravity measurements contributed by the single-photon light shift in an atom gravimeter can be corrected to a $\mathrm{sub}\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{Gal}\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}(1\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{Gal}=1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}8}\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\mathrm{m}/{\mathrm{s}}^{2})$ level.
This paper presents the first experimental observation and investigation of a lineshape-asymmetry-caused shift (LACS) in a short-baseline atomic interferometer–gravimeter. It is shown that this shift scales inversely with the cube of the free evolution time, ∝T−3 \propto {\kern 1pt} {{T}^{{ - 3}}}∝T−3 , and can lead to a noticeable systematic error in the measured value of the gravitational acceleration ggg at the level of 0.1–1 mGal ( T≈T \approx T≈ milliseconds). The obtained results are in good agreement with our previous theoretical studies and highlight the importance of accounting for LACS in high-precision absolute measurements of ggg in compact atomic gravimeters.
Cold atom free-fall interferometers now realize state-of-the-art precision inertial sensors, opening perspectives towards embedded devices for applications and fundamental physics tests on earth and in space. The acceleration of gravity can be measured in a stimulated Raman transition interferometer where the acceleration under gravity of a cloud of freely falling atoms is sensed by three Raman pulses allowing to split, reflect and interfere atomic wave packets [1]. The gravimeter developped at SYRTE allows to measure the acceleration of gravity at state-of-the-art performances compared to the best classical absolute gravimeters, with a sensitivity of 2×10−8g over 1s and an exactitude of 5×10−9 g [2]. This exactitude is currently limited by wavefront aberrations of the lasers, sampled by residual transverse trajectories of the molasse-cooled cloud over the free fall. Unbalanced transverse trajectories will also bias the measurement due to Coriolis effect [3]. We will investigate the use of a colder atom source to reduce these systematic effects, by implementing Bose-Einstein condensation of the initial cloud, allowing both better position control and better focusing of our source.
We present here a detailed study of the influence of the transverse motion of the atoms in a free-fall gravimeter. By implementing Raman selection in the horizontal directions at the beginning of the atoms' free fall, we characterize the effective velocity distribution, i.e., the velocity distribution of the detected atom, as a function of the laser cooling and trapping parameters. In particular, we show that the response of the detection induces a pronounced asymmetry of this effective velocity distribution that depends not only on the imbalance between molasses beams but also on the initial position of the displaced atomic sample. This convolution with the detection has a strong influence on the averaging of the bias due to Coriolis acceleration. The present study allows a fairly good understanding of results previously published in [New J. Phys. 13, 065025 (2011)], where the mean phase shift due to Coriolis acceleration was found to have a sign different from that expected.
Atomic gravimeter based on atom interferometry has become a hotspot of quantum optics applications in recent years and shown rapid progress in static-scene measurements. Improving the adaptability on dynamic scenes is an important development direction, which calls for in-depth research on various errors caused by carrier motions. This work focuses on the error evaluation and compensation of motion-induced misalignment between the Raman laser beam and the atomic trajectory. A theoretical analysis framework is formed to investigate the atom-laser misalignment errors by considering both the inhomogeneous Raman laser intensity and wavefront phase distributions in a dynamic perspective. The influence on fringe contrast and phase shift in an atom-interferometry gravimeter is discussed. Quantitative study has been done with different motion types, motion rates as well as random motion noises. The results show oscillational decay trends of fringe contrast with the motion amplitude and the increased significance of rotationally antisymmetric Zernike terms in dynamical Raman wavefront phase shift evaluation. Strong correlations can be found between the misalignment errors and the experimental parameters. A compensation method is proposed accordingly via quickly adjusting the Raman intensity or pulse duration and comprehensive Raman wavefront characterization. Both amplitude and phase corrections are achieved. The analytical approach and results provide a practical solution for further advances of atom-interferometry under harsh motional conditions.
Light-pulse atom gravimetry has emerged as a powerful technique for precisely measuring absolute gravitational acceleration. Raman lasers are commonly used in this technique to coherently manipulate the atomic wave packet, of which the effective frequency is chirped continuously to compensate for the Doppler shift. In this study we investigate an additional phase shift in the Raman lasers that arises due to the frequency chirp. We directly measure this phase shift by recording the beat signal of the Raman lasers with a high-speed oscilloscope, providing an independent evaluation of the resultant error in atom gravimeters caused by this phase shift. Concurrently, we detect the influence of the additional phase shift on gravity measurements using our atom gravimeter, and the results are in good agreement with the independent evaluation. Notably, there may still be a residual error at the microgal level when performing differential measurements by reversing the direction of the effective wave vector of the Raman lasers. We propose that this residual error can in principle be eliminated by selecting the same chirp frequency range for both directions in the differential measurement.