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Continuously-trapped atom interferometry in drive-tunable Floquet-Bloch bands

ORAL

Abstract

Atom interferometry is a powerful and proven sensing technology. However, freefall-based techniques impose fundamental limitations on performance, forcing physics-limited tradeoffs between sensitivity, compactness, and bandwidth. Many of these can be overcome by continuous trapping of the atoms. We report on the experimental development of an interferometer composed of continuously-trapped ultracold atoms in the drive-tunable Floquet-Bloch bands of a 1D optical lattice. We experimentally demonstrate synthesis and characterization of large-spacetime-area interferometric loops by tuning the lattice modulation, which allows for nearly arbitrary splitting and recombination of atomic populations at partially avoided interband crossings. We discuss the use of “magic” band structures to cancel to first order the sensitivity to trap amplitude fluctuations, and conclude with a discussion of the scalability and potential applications of this platform. 

Presenters

  • Ethan Q Simmons

    University of California, Santa Barbara

Authors

  • Ethan Q Simmons

    University of California, Santa Barbara

  • Alec J Cao

    University of California, Santa Barbara

  • Roshan Sajjad

    University of California, Santa Barbara

  • Jeremy Tanlimco

    University of California, Santa Barbara

  • Hector Mas

    University of California, Santa Barbara

  • David Weld

    University of California, Santa Barbara