Towards Magic Trapped Atom Interferometry for gravimetry

Trapped atom interferometry is a promising platform for precision measurement and quantum sensing [1,2]. Compared to their free-falling counterparts, where the interferometer times are limited to a few seconds, trapped atom interferometers have demonstrated more than a minute of coherence [3]. Atom interferometers that utilize 1D optical potentials in a vertical geometry are particularly suitable for gravitational sensing applications such as measuring the acceleration due to gravity, gravity gradiometry, and equivalence principle tests. However, the optical potentials in which the atoms are confined may contribute large systematic effects and spurious phases impeding the sensitivity of such measurements. Importantly, the phase from the Bloch oscillations (BOs) driven by gravity in a vertically oriented optical lattice is of particular consideration. In earlier work, we investigated these phases for many BOs [4] and demonstrated “magic” lattice depths where such phases are insensitive to lattice depth fluctuations in excited bands [5]. We will report on work toward trapping of Yb atoms in magic-depth lattices to enhance the phase stability and arm separation of trapped atom interferometers and examine their applicability towards equivalence principle tests.

Refs:

[1] Panda et al., 2023. arxiv:2310.01344

[2] Zhang et al., 2016. Phys. Rev. A 94, 043608

[3] Panda et al., 2022. arXiv:2210.07289.

[4] Rahman et al., 2023. arXiv:2308.04134.

[5] McAlpine et al., 2020. Phys. Rev. A 101, 023614.