Related papers: Signatures of linearized gravity in atom interfero…
In a recent paper, H. Mueller, A. Peters and S. Chu [A precision measurement of the gravitational redshift by the interference of matter waves, Nature 463, 926-929 (2010)] argued that atom interferometry experiments published a decade ago…
The study of the gravitational redshift\,---\,a relative wavelength increase of $\approx 2 \times 10^{-6}$ was predicted for solar radiation by Einstein in 1908\,---\,is still an important subject in modern physics. In a dispute whether or…
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…
We have developed a matter wave interferometer based on the diffraction of atoms from effective absorption gratings of light. In a setup with cold rubidium atoms in an atomic fountain the interferometer has been used to carry out tests of…
We study the decoherence of atomic interferometers due to the scattering of stochastic gravitational waves. We evaluate the `direct' gravitational effect registered by the phase of the matter waves as well as the `indirect' effect…
Atom-surface interactions can significantly modify the intensity and phase of atom de Broglie waves diffracted by a silicon nitride grating. This affects the operation of a material grating as a coherent beam splitter. The phase shift…
Atom interferometers are sensitive to a wide range of forces by encoding their signals in interference patterns of matter waves. To estimate the magnitude of these forces, the underlying phase shifts they imprint on the atoms must be…
We present a new measurement of the Newtonian gravitational constant G based on cold atom interferometry. Freely falling samples of laser-cooled rubidium atoms are used in a gravity gradiometer to probe the field generated by nearby source…
We present a theoretical investigation of the expected experimental signals produced by freely falling atoms with time oscillating mass and transition frequency. These oscillations could be produced in a variety of models, in particular,…
In this brief paper, we show that atom interferometer experiments such as MAGIS, AION or AEDGE have the potential to not only probe very light dark matter models, but they will also probe quantum gravity. We show that the linear coupling of…
Collisions with background gas particles can shift the resonance frequencies of atoms in atomic clocks. The internal quantum states of atoms can also become entangled with their motional states due to the recoil imparted by a collision,…
We discuss the use of atom interferometry as a tool to search for Dark Matter (DM) composed of ultra-light scalar fields. Previous work on ultra-light DM detection using accelerometers has considered the possibility of equivalence principle…
We present a gravitationally rigorous and clear answer, in the negative, to the question whether gravimetry with atom interferometers is equivalent to the the measurement of the relative gravitational time dilation of two clocks separated…
In a recent article Wang et al. (Class. Quantum Grav. 23 (2006) L59), demonstrated that the phase of a particle fluctuates due to interactions with random deviations of a conformal gravitational field. Furthermore they demonstrated that…
We study the influence of off-resonant two photon transitions on high precision measurements with atom interferometers based on stimulated Raman transitions. These resonances induce a two photon light shift on the resonant Raman condition.…
In an ideal test of the equivalence principle, the test masses fall in a common inertial frame. A real experiment is affected by gravity gradients, which introduce systematic errors by coupling to initial kinematic differences between the…
Quantum reflection occurs when ultra-cold atoms are incident on a material surface with sufficiently low velocity. The reflecting matter wave can interfere with the incident wave to form a detectable pattern, and this pattern contains…
This work concerns the loss of energy of a material system due to gravitational radiation in Einstein-aether theory-an alternative theory of gravity in which the metric couples to a dynamical, timelike, unit-norm vector field. Derived to…
A new technique for maintaining high contrast in an atom interferometer is used to measure large de Broglie wave phase shifts. Dependence of an interaction induced phase on the atoms' velocity is compensated by applying an engineered…
We propose an atom interferometer gravitational wave detector in low Earth orbit (AGIS-LEO). Gravitational waves can be observed by comparing a pair of atom interferometers separated over a ~30 km baseline. In the proposed configuration,…