Interferometric measurement of micro-g acceleration with levitated atoms

Di Carli, A and Colquhoun, C D and Kuhr, S and Haller, E (2019) Interferometric measurement of micro-g acceleration with levitated atoms. New Journal of Physics, 21 (5). 053028. ISSN 1367-2630 (https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/ab1bbd)

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Abstract

The sensitivity of atom interferometers is usually limited by the observation time of a free falling cloud of atoms in Earth's gravitational field. Considerable efforts are currently made to increase this observation time, e.g. in fountain experiments, drop towers and in space. In this article, we experimentally study and discuss the use of magnetic levitation for interferometric precision measurements. We employ a Bose-Einstein condensate of cesium atoms with tuneable interaction and a Michelson-interferometer scheme for the detection of micro-g acceleration. In addition, we demonstrate observation times of 1s, which are comparable to current drop-tower experiments, we study the curvature of our force field, and we observe the effects of a phase-shifting element in the interferometer paths.

ORCID iDs

Di Carli, A ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0377-6886, Colquhoun, C D ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3682-2607, Kuhr, S ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8386-5357 and Haller, E ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7951-1721;
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