Project Details
Projekt
Atom interferometry with Delta-Kick squeezed atoms
Applicant
Dr. Baptist Piest
Subject Area
Optics, Quantum Optics and Physics of Atoms, Molecules and Plasmas
Term
since 2024
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 537084118
Light pulse atom interferometry is a versatile measurement tool with a wide range of applications benefitting from continuous improvements in sensitivity and miniaturization. Due to their high scale factor atom interferometers are among the most precise instruments for measuring accelerations and rotations. Their sensitivity is limited by the quantum projection noise (QPN), which is a consequence of the projection of each individual atom onto one of the two output states of the interferometer. Due to the QPN, the sensitivity of the atom interferometer scales as 1/Sqrt(N) with the atom number N. By introducing suitable correlations between the atoms it is possible to beat the QPN and approach the fundamental Heisenberg scaling of the sensitivity 1/N. Reaching the Heisenberg limit of an atom interferometer would drastically improve the capabilities of current atom interferometers with a number of applications like further miniaturization of in-field devices or the detection of gravitational waves in large-scale experiments. One promising route to circumvent the QPN has recently been proposed by the so-called Delta-Kick squeezing (R. Corgier et al. PRL 127, 183401 (2021)): By using appropriate optical potentials, the atoms in a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) are focused to high densities to take advantage of interatomic interactions that cause entanglement between atoms. This proposal aims to improve the sensitivity of atom interferometers beyond classical limitations by using Delta-Kick-Squeezing. The new technique will be tested and implemented for the first time in an existing apparatus at SYRTE (Systèmes de Référence Temps-Espace) in Paris Observatory. The goal of the project is to demonstrate and quantify the achievable metrological gain by conducting a squeezing enhanced measurement of the gravitational acceleration of Rb-87 atoms. It aims to improve the state-of-the-art in squeezing enhanced atom interferometry by achieving a 6 dB reduction in phase variance below the QPN, but also identify its limitations and develop further perspectives for future exploration of the topic.
DFG Programme
WBP Fellowship
International Connection
France
