Scheme for suppressing atom expansion induced contrast loss in atom interferometers

OPTICS COMMUNICATIONS

卷:390

Article

Hu, Qing-Qing^1,2  Luo, Yu-Kun^1,2  Jia, Ai-Ai^1,2  Wei, Chun-Hua^1,2  Yan, Shu-Hua^1,2  Yang, Jun^1,2 

[1] Natl Univ Def Technol, Coll Mechatron Engn & Automat, Changsha 410073, Hunan, Peoples R China

[2] Natl Univ Def Technol, Interdisciplinary Ctr Quantum Informat, Changsha 410073, Hunan, Peoples R China

关键词: Cold atom interferometer;    Measurement sensitivity;    Fringe contrast;    Atom expansion;    Mitigation strategy;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.optcom.2016.12.054

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

The loss of contrast due to atom expansion induced non-perfect Raman pulse area hi atom interferometers is investigated systematically. Based on the theoretical simulation, we find that the expansion of the atomic cloud results in a decrease of the pi pulse fidelity and a change of the pi pulse duration, which lead to a significant reduction in fringe contrast. We propose a mitigation strategy of increasing the intensities of the second and third Raman pulses. Simulation results show that the fringe contrast can be improved by 13.6% in a typical atom interferometer gravimeter using this intensity compensation strategy. We also evaluate the effects of this mitigation strategy in the case of a lower atomic cloud temperature and a larger Raman beam size under different Raman pulse time interval conditions. This mitigation strategy has potential applications in increasing the sensitivity of atom interferometer-based precision measuring, including precision measuring of the gravity, gravity gradient, rotation, and magnetic field gradient, as well as testing of the Einstein equivalence principle.

【 授权许可】

Free