Velocity‐modulated atom interferometry with enhanced dynamic range

Abstract

We present new modes of operation in a continuous, 3D-cooled atomic beam interferometer designed for inertial sensing. In these experiments, a moving optical molasses cooling stage provides both three-dimensional cooling and excellent dynamic control over atomic beam velocity. By modulating the atomic beam velocity, we modulate the interferometer scale factor, enabling us to extract the absolute inertial phase over many phase cycles without sacrificing short-term sensitivity. These demonstrations provide a path toward solving the longstanding challenge of limited dynamic range in spatial-domain atom interferometric inertial sensors.

Time-domain control of a spatial-domain atomic beam interferometer

“…In past work, we have shown that temporal variation of the mean velocity of the atomic beam in our spatial-domain atom interferometer can provide a significant increase in dynamic range. 11 In this work, we demonstrate, through modeling and experiment, the mitigation of time-varying errors in atom interferometer phase through time-domain control of the direction of photon recoil in a spatial domain atom interferometer. Estimation and subtraction of systematic phase errors through reversal of the direction of photon recoil is a longstanding technique in atomic inertial sensing in both time-domain and spatial-domain atom interferometers.…”