Trapped and Large Momentum Transfer-enhanced Atom Interferometers using Yb BECs
POSTER
Abstract
Atom interferometry is a well-established technique for leveraging the wave-like nature of neutral atoms for precise metrology, with a plethora of applications in fundamental physics, precision measurement, and inertial sensing [1,2]. Two distinct paradigms exist for operating an atom interferometer: traditional free-fall geometries and more recent trapped interferometers. In either scheme, the use of Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) atom sources provides a clear route towards improving the sensitivity due to inherent narrow momentum distributions and high densities. We report on advances in both paradigms using Yb BEC atom sources.
We present observation and control of interaction effects in a Yb BEC lattice-trapped atom interferometer. The success of atom interferometers based on single-particle physics can be further advanced by using lower temperature and higher densities [3] until atomic interactions become non-negligible. This delineates a boundary for enhancement in trapped atom interferometers based on single-body physics and opens the door for gainful use of many-body states for atom interferometric quantum sensing [4].
In a complementary direction, the optical lattice used for trapping can be chirped in frequency to impart many photon momenta via Bloch oscillations (BOs) in a coherent and efficient manner [5], increasing the sensitivity of both free-fall and lattice-trapped interferometers. Using a coherent control technique developed in previous work [6], called the “magic depth” of excited states in an optical lattice wherein the differential Stark shift between momentum states is first-order insensitive to intensity fluctuations, one can create phase-stable large momentum transfer atom optics based on Bloch oscillations. We present work towards a BO-LMT interferometer using Yb BECs with momentum separations approaching the kilo-recoil (1000 photon momenta) regime.
[1] Morel et al., 2020. Nature 588, 61-65.
[2] Asenbaum et al., 2020. PRL 125, 191101
[3] Panda et al., 2024. Nature Physics 20, 1234-1239.
[4] Corgier et al., 2021. PRL 127, 183401.
[5] Rahman et al., 2024. PRR 6, L022012.
[6] McAlpine et al., 2020. PRA 101, 023614.
We present observation and control of interaction effects in a Yb BEC lattice-trapped atom interferometer. The success of atom interferometers based on single-particle physics can be further advanced by using lower temperature and higher densities [3] until atomic interactions become non-negligible. This delineates a boundary for enhancement in trapped atom interferometers based on single-body physics and opens the door for gainful use of many-body states for atom interferometric quantum sensing [4].
In a complementary direction, the optical lattice used for trapping can be chirped in frequency to impart many photon momenta via Bloch oscillations (BOs) in a coherent and efficient manner [5], increasing the sensitivity of both free-fall and lattice-trapped interferometers. Using a coherent control technique developed in previous work [6], called the “magic depth” of excited states in an optical lattice wherein the differential Stark shift between momentum states is first-order insensitive to intensity fluctuations, one can create phase-stable large momentum transfer atom optics based on Bloch oscillations. We present work towards a BO-LMT interferometer using Yb BECs with momentum separations approaching the kilo-recoil (1000 photon momenta) regime.
[1] Morel et al., 2020. Nature 588, 61-65.
[2] Asenbaum et al., 2020. PRL 125, 191101
[3] Panda et al., 2024. Nature Physics 20, 1234-1239.
[4] Corgier et al., 2021. PRL 127, 183401.
[5] Rahman et al., 2024. PRR 6, L022012.
[6] McAlpine et al., 2020. PRA 101, 023614.
*We acknowledge funding from ONR Grant No N000142412564, NSF Grant No. PHY-2110164, and the NDSEG Fellowship Program.
Presenters
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Emmett Hough
- University of Washington