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Optical and Quantum Sensing and Precision Metrology II

Vector atom accelerometry in an optical lattice

Catherine LeDesma, Kendall Mehling, Murray Holland

Published Mar 19, 2025• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

The creation of a matter-wave interferometer can be achieved by loading Bose-Einstein condensed atoms into an optical lattice. By shaking the lattice via either phase or frequency modulation, the traditional steps of interferometry; splitting, propagating, reflecting, again propagating and then recombining the atomic wavefunction, can be implemented, allowing for the sensing of broad range of inertial signals. This approach is interesting, since the atoms can be supported against external forces and perturbations, and the system can be completely reconfigurable on-the-fly for a new design goal. We report on theoretical and experimental results in which atoms are cooled to degeneracy in a dipole trap and subsequently loaded into a multidimensional optical lattice. Shaking protocols for obtaining interferometry steps are derived via machine-design approaches consisting of machine learning and quantum optimal control. Experimental confirmation of the designed operation of a two-dimensional vector accelerometer is shown and its performance to applied accelerations measured. Both the direction and magnitude of the applied signal is varied and validation of both scenarios presented.

DOI
10.1117/12.3053450

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The creation of a matter-wave interferometer can be achieved by loading Bose-Einstein condensed atoms into an optical lattice. By shaking the lattice via either phase or frequency modulation, the traditional steps of interferometry; splitting, propagating, reflecting, again propagating and then recombining the atomic wavefunction, can be implemented, allowing for the sensing of broad range of inertial signals. This approach is interesting, since the atoms can be supported against external forces and perturbations, and the system can be completely reconfigurable on-the-fly for a new design goal. We report on theoretical and experimental results in which atoms are cooled to degeneracy in a dipole trap and subsequently loaded into a multidimensional optical lattice. Shaking protocols for obtaining interferometry steps are derived via machine-design approaches consisting of machine learning and quantum optimal control. Experimental confirmation of the designed operation of a two-dimensional vector accelerometer is shown and its performance to applied accelerations measured. Both the direction and magnitude of the applied signal is varied and validation of both scenarios presented.
The creation of a 1D matter-wave interferometer can be achieved by utilizing ultracold atoms loaded into an optical lattice. By shaking the lattice via either phase or frequency modulation, the traditional steps of interferometry- effectively splitting, propagating, reflecting, again propagating and then recombining the atomic wavefunction- can be implemented, allowing for the sensing of inertial signals. This approach is interesting, since the atoms can be supported against external forces and perturbations, and the system can be completely reconfigurable on-the-fly for a new design goal. We report on experimental results in which atoms are cooled into a dipole trap and subsequently loaded into an optical lattice. Shaking protocols for obtaining interferometry steps are derived via machine learning and quantum optimal control methods. We report experimental progress in realizing a shaken lattice interferometer and its sensitivity to an applied acceleration signal along with the possibility of tailoring the signal to specific scenarios. Additionally, closed loop learning from the experiment to improve signal sensitivity is explored and demonstrated.
We theoretically study a new approach to matter-wave interferometer that utilizes ultracold atoms confined in an optical lattice. Through patterned phase modulation of the lattice, the matter wave is split, mirrored, and recombined, resulting in sensitivity to an applied inertial signal as was recently demonstrated experimentally in [LeDesma et al., arXiv:2305.17603 (2023)]. Compared to free-space equivalents, this “shaken lattice” interferometer has the advantage that atoms remain always supported against external forces and perturbations and that by applying different shaking sequences the device could be in principle made sensitive to different signals (inertial, gravitational, etc...) on the fly. In this work, we give a brief overview of this sensing platform and its working principles.
Two kinds of multidimensional atom interferometers are demonstrated that are capable of measuring both the magnitude and direction of applied inertial forces. These interferometers, built from ultracold Bose-Einstein condensed rubidium atoms, use an original design that operates entirely within the Bloch bands of an optical lattice. Through time-dependent lattice position control, we realize Bloch oscillations in two dimensions and a vector atomic Michelson interferometer. Fits to the observed Bloch oscillations demonstrate the measurement of an applied acceleration of 2 g along two axes, where g is Earth’s gravitational acceleration. For the Michelson interferometer, we perform Bayesian inferencing from a 49-channel output by repeating experiments for two-axis accelerations and demonstrate vector parameter estimation. Accelerations can be measured from single experimental runs and do not require repeated shots to construct a fringe. The performance of our device is near the quantum limit for the interferometer size and quantum detection efficiency of the atoms.
Since the first demonstrations in 1991, atom interferometry has been a burgeoning field of research. The work done in this field is motivated by the potential sensitivity improvements that atom-based devices can have over the current state-of-the-art light- and MEMS-based devices. This dissertation presents a new and unique approach to atom interferometry in that we perform the basic interferometric sequence of splitting, propagation, reflection, reverse-propagation, and recombination with atoms trapped in a phase-modulated (shaken) optical lattice. In both simulation and experiment we demonstrate a one-dimensional shaken lattice interferometer configured as an accelerometer. The interferometry sequence is developed through the use of learning and optimal control algorithms that allow us to implement the desired state-to-state transformations and perform the desired operations, e.g. splitting and recombination of the atoms trapped in the lattice. This device has a sensitivity that scales as the square of the interrogation time and an ability to distinguish both the magnitude and sign of an applied acceleration signal. Furthermore we show that we can tailor the transfer function of the interferometer to be sensitive to a signal of interest, e.g. an AC signal of a given frequency. Finally, we explore the analytics of shaken lattice interferometry and offer some suggestions as to the future of this new technology.
Precision interferometry with atomic wavepackets confined in a one-dimensional optical lattice is an emergent paradigm in quantum sensing of forces and fields, with applications in gravimetry, accelerometry, geophysics, and fundamental physics tests. We report on the realization of a lattice-trapped interferometer where the two arms are sourced from a weakly-interacting ytterbium Bose-Einstein condensate, coherently split and trapped by pulsed optical standing waves before recombination. We directly observe atomic interactions through contrast changes and phase shifts of the interferometer. By changing either the atom number or the sample volume to vary the density, we demonstrate control over interactions and optimize interferometer performance. Our observations are effectively captured by a mean-field theoretical model of the system. This work experimentally probes the boundary where improved performance from source brightening through higher phase space density transitions into a regime beyond single-atom physics in lattice-trapped atom interferometry, and opens a door to incorporating many-body effects for metrological advances in such platforms.
We introduce shaken lattice interferometry with atoms trapped in a one-dimensional optical lattice. By phase modulating (shaking) the lattice, we control the momentum state of the atoms. Through a sequence of shaking functions, the atoms undergo an interferometer sequence of splitting, propagation, reflection, reverse propagation, and recombination. Each shaking function in the sequence is optimized with a genetic algorithm to achieve the desired momentum state transitions. As with conventional atom interferometers, the sensitivity of the shaken lattice interferometer increases with interrogation time. The shaken lattice interferometer may also be optimized to sense signals of interest while rejecting others, such as the measurement of an ac inertial signal in the presence of an unwanted dc signal.