Related papers: Theoretical Analysis of a Large Momentum Beamsplit…
The sensitivity of an inertial sensor based on an atomic interfermometer is proportional to the velocity separation of atoms in the two arms of the interferometer. In this paper we describe how Bloch oscillations can be used to increase…
Bloch oscillations of atoms in optical lattices are a powerful technique that can boost the sensitivity of atom interferometers to a wide range of signals by large momentum transfer. To leverage this method to its full potential, an…
We propose and demonstrate a method to increase the momentum separation between the arms of an atom interferometer and thus its area and measurement precision, by using Bloch oscillations (BOs) in an excited band of a pulsed optical…
Bloch oscillations (i.e., coherent acceleration of matter waves by an optical lattice) and Bragg diffraction are integrated into light-pulse atom interferometers with large momentum splitting between the interferometer arms, and hence…
We apply a Bloch-bands approach to the analysis of pulsed optical standing wave diffractive elements in optics and interferometry with ultracold atoms. We verify our method by comparison to a series of experiments with Bose-Einstein…
We present a methodology for the design of optimal Raman beam-splitter pulses suitable for cold atom inertial sensors. The methodology, based on time-dependent perturbation theory, links optimal control and the sensitivity function…
We study the ultimate bounds on the sensitivity of a Bloch-oscillation atom interferometer where the external force is estimated from the measurement of the on-site atomic density. For external forces such that the energy difference between…
Atom interferometers have been used to measure acceleration with at best a $T^2$ scaling in sensitivity as the interferometer time $T$ is increased. This limits the sensitivity to acceleration which is theoretically achievable by these…
In Paris, we are using an atom interferometer to precisely measure the recoil velocity of an atom that absorbs a photon. In order to reach a high sensitivity, many recoils are transferred to atoms using the Bloch oscillations technique. In…
Large-momentum-transfer techniques are instrumental for the next generation of atom interferometers as they significantly improve their sensitivity. State-of-the-art implementations rely on elastic scattering processes from optical lattices…
Atoms undergoing Bloch oscillations (BOs) in an accelerating optical lattice acquire momentum of two photon recoils per BO. This technique provides a large momentum transfer tool for atom optics, but its full exploitation for atom…
Large Momentum Transfer (LMT) beam splitters are implemented in atom interferometers to increase their sensitivity. However, LMT-interferometer requires additional light-pulses that modify the response function of the atom interferometer.…
We experimentally and theoretically study the diffraction phase of large-momentum transfer beam splitters in atom interferometers based on Bragg diffraction. We null the diffraction phase and increase the sensitivity of the interferometer…
We study the propagation of cold-atom wave packets in an interferometer with a Mach-Zehnder topology based on the dynamical phase of Bloch oscillation in a weakly forced optical lattice with a narrow potential barrier that functions as a…
Cold atoms in an optical lattice provide an ideal platform for studying Bloch oscillations. Here, we extend Bloch oscillations to two superposed optical lattices that are accelerated away from one another, and for the first time show that…
An interferometric method is proposed to controllably split an atomic condensate in two spatial components with strongly reduced population fluctuations. All steps in our proposal are in current use in cold atom laboratories, and we show…
We present a systematic approach to determine all relativistic phases up to $\mathcal{O}(c^{-2})$ in light-pulse atom interferometers in weakly curved spacetime that are based on elastic scattering, namely Bragg diffraction and Bloch…
In this paper we present a short overview of atom interferometry based on light pulses. We discuss different implementations and their applications for high precision measurements. We will focus on the determination of the ratio h/m of the…
We report on the study of a detection scheme based on a Bloch separator in two-photon Bragg interferometers. We increase the spatial separation between the two output ports of the interferometer by selectively imparting 30 Bloch…
We use Bloch oscillations to transfer coherently many photon momenta to atoms. Then we can measure accurately the ratio h/m_Rb and deduce the fine structure constant alpha. The velocity variation due to the Bloch oscillations is measured…