Related papers: A portable laser system for high precision atom in…
The exquisite precision of atom interferometers has sparked the interest of a large community for use cases ranging from fundamental physics to geodesy and inertial navigation. However, their practical use for onboard applications is still…
We describe the operation of a light pulse interferometer using cold 87Rb atoms in reduced gravity. Using a series of two Raman transitions induced by light pulses, we have obtained Ramsey fringes in the low gravity environment achieved…
We study the use of atom interferometers as detectors for gravitational waves in the mHz - Hz frequency band, which is complementary to planned optical interferometers, such as laser interferometer gravitational wave observatories (LIGOs)…
We have constructed and modeled a simple and efficient source of slow atoms. From a background vapour loaded magneto-optical trap, a thin laser beam extracts a continuous jet of cold rubidium atoms. In this setup, the extraction column that…
We developed a gravity-gradiometer based on atom interferometry for the determination of the Newtonian gravitational constant \textit{G}. The apparatus, combining a Rb fountain, Raman interferometry and a juggling scheme for fast launch of…
Atom interferometry represents a quantum leap in the technology for the ultra-precise monitoring of accelerations and rotations and, therefore, for all the science that relies on the latter quantities. These sensors evolved from a new kind…
We present our the construction of an atom interferometer for inertial sensing in microgravity, as part of the I.C.E. (\textit{Interf\'{e}rom\'{e}trie Coh\'{e}rente pour l'Espace}) collaboration. On-board laser systems have been developed…
Compact optical atomic clocks have become increasingly important in field applications and clock networks. Systems based on Ramsey-Borde interferometry (RBI) with a thermal atomic beam seem promising to fill a technology gap in optical…
An interferometer design that cancels all displacement noises of its test masses and maintains a gravitational-wave (GW) signal by combining multiple detector signals is called a displacement noise-free interferometer (DFI). The idea has…
The network of interferometric gravitational-wave observatories has successfully detected tens of astrophysical signals since 2015. In this paper, we experimentally investigate compact sensors that have the potential to improve the…
We have realized an atom interferometer that probes gravitational potentials by holding, rather than dropping, atoms. Up to one minute of coherence times are realized by suspending the spatially separated atomic wave packets in an optical…
We describe measurements demonstrating laser cooling of an atomic gas by means of collisional redistribution of radiation. The experiment uses rubidium atoms in the presence of several hundred bar of argon buffer gas pressure. Frequent…
An experimental method is developed for the robust frequency stabilization using a high-finesse cavity when the laser exhibits large intermittent frequency jumps. This is accomplished by applying an additional slow feedback signal from…
We have constructed a pulsed laser system for the manipulation of cold Rb atoms. The system combines optical telecommunications components and frequency doubling to generate light at 780 nm. Using a fast, fibre-coupled intensity modulator,…
We have built and operated an atom interferometer of the Mach-Zehnder type. The atomic wave is a supersonic beam of lithium seeded in argon and the mirrors and beam-splitters for the atomic wave are based on elastic Bragg diffraction on…
Laser frequency stabilization is notably one of the major challenges on the way to a space-borne gravitational wave observatory. The proposed Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is presently under development in an ESA, NASA…
In this work, we investigate a tool for hybrid quantum systems that implements a transducer to map small position changes of a micro-mechanical membrane onto the polarization of a laser beam. This is achieved with an interferometric setup…
We present a compact laser frequency stabilization method by locking a 556 nm laser to a high-precision wavelength meter. Unlike traditional schemes that rely on optical cavities or atomic references, we stabilize the laser frequency via a…
Ultra-stable, quasi-monochromatic laser light forms the basis for high-precision interferometric measurements, e.g. for observing gravitational waves and for time keeping with optical clocks. Optical frequency conversion enables access to…
The past three decades have shown dramatic progress in the ability to manipulate and coherently control the motion of atoms. This exquisite control offers the prospect of a new generation of inertial sensors with unprecedented sensitivity…