Experimental limits of an inertial sensor based on cold atoms interferometry

Abstract

We investigate the limits of our cold atoms interferometer to rotation and acceleration measurements. In contrast with previous atomic setups, emphasis was placed on the long term stability and compactness of the device through the use of laser cooled atoms, as previously shown with the field of atomic clock. It has been designed to give access to all six axes of inertia (three accelerations and three rotations). The expected improvement in stability will enable to consider applications in inertial navigation, geophysics and tests of general relativity as the equivalence principle or Lense-Thirring effect.