Influence of magnetic fields on the bias stability of atomic gyroscope operated in spin-exchange relaxation-free regime

Abstract

For the atomic gyroscope (AG) operated in spin-exchange relaxation-free (SERF) regime, the sensitivity to external magnetic fields has been suppressed while the ability to sense inertial rotations has been kept. Here, a theoretical relationship between the magnetic fields and the AG response is given, and the influence of field fluctuations on the systematic stability is also shown. The spin-exchange rate of the electron spins Rseen and the relaxation rate of the nuclear spins Rtotn aggravate the influence of the field component Bx. Experimental results indicate that the contributions of long-term fluctuations in the fields, approximately 2.4pT/h for Bx and 0.9pT/h for By, to the bias stability are 2.19×10−2deg/h and 5.29×10−4deg/h. This work is not only valuable for understanding the field-suppression effect in SERF AG, but also provides a useful tool for identifying the influence of fields on the systematic stability.