Abstract
We present results on a free-space atom interferometer operating on the first order magnetically insensitive |F = 1,mF = 0) --> |F = 2,mF = 0) ground state transition of Bose-condensed (87)Rb atoms. A pulsed atom laser is output-coupled from a Bose-Einstein condensate and propagates through a sequence of two internal state beam splitters, realized via coherent Raman transitions between the two interfering states. We observe Ramsey fringes with a visibility close to 100% and determine the current and the potentially achievable interferometric phase sensitivity. This system is well suited to testing recent proposals for generating and detecting squeezed atomic states.
Highlights
Atom interferometry [1] has proven to be an increasingly valuable technique for precision measurements over the last years [2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
As the Rabi frequency for Raman transitions driven by purely phase-modulated light vanishes due to destructive interference [26, 27], the electro-optic phase modulator (EOM) is placed in one arm of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI)
In the work presented above, we demonstrate free-space Ramsey interferometry on the first order magnetically insensitive transition |F = 1, mF = 0 → |F = 2, mF = 0 of Bose-condensed 87Rb atoms
Summary
Atom interferometry [1] has proven to be an increasingly valuable technique for precision measurements over the last years [2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) comprise a macroscopic number of atoms in a single momentum state and have an even narrower momentum width, limited by the Heisenberg uncertainty principle This narrow velocity spread makes BECs an excellent candidate for highly velocity selective light-based beam splitters in atom interferometers. Atom interferometry with confined high density BECs is strongly affected by phase diffusion due to mean field interactions in the condensate, significantly limiting the coherence time [1, 15]. Experiments to overcome this barrier have been conducted by, e.g., reducing the atomic interactions via a magnetic Feshbach resonance [16] or utilizing number squeezed states [17, 18]. The setup presented in this Letter is well suited for the implementation of either of these schemes and the most direct way of detecting the effect of squeezing on the performance of an atom laser interferometer
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