Phase shift in atom interferometry due to spacetime curvature
Atomic Physics
2017-06-19 v2 Quantum Physics
Abstract
We present a single-source dual atom interferometer and utilize it as a gradiometer for precise gravitational measurements. The macroscopic separation between interfering atomic wave packets (as large as 16 cm) reveals the interplay of recoil effects and gravitational curvature from a nearby Pb source mass. The gradiometer baseline is set by the laser wavelength and pulse timings, which can be measured to high precision. Using a long drift time and large momentum transfer atom optics, the gradiometer reaches a resolution of s per shot and measures a 1 rad phase shift induced by the source mass.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1610.03832,
title = {Phase shift in atom interferometry due to spacetime curvature},
author = {Peter Asenbaum and Chris Overstreet and Tim Kovachy and Daniel D. Brown and Jason M. Hogan and Mark A. Kasevich},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1610.03832},
year = {2017}
}
Comments
5 pages, 4 figures, Supplemental material