Publication Date:
2018-04-13
Description:
We present a gradiometer based on matter-wave interference of alkaline-earth-metal atoms, namely 88 Sr. The coherent manipulation of the atomic external degrees of freedom is obtained by large-momentum-transfer Bragg diffraction, driven by laser fields detuned away from the narrow 1 S 0 – 3 P 1 intercombination transition. We use a well-controlled artificial gradient, realized by changing the relative frequencies of the Bragg pulses during the interferometer sequence, in order to characterize the sensitivity of the gradiometer. The sensitivity reaches 1.5 × 10 −5 s −2 for an interferometer time of 20 ms, limited only by geometrical constraints. We observed extremely low sensitivity of the gradiometric phase to magnetic field gradients, approaching a value 10 4 times lower than the sensitivity of alkali-atom based gradiometers, limited by the interferometer sensitivity. An efficient double-launch techni...
Electronic ISSN:
1367-2630
Topics:
Physics
