Atom interferometry with cold atoms and Bose Einstein condensates
Frank A Narducci, Sara A De Savage, Raghav Simha and Jon P Davis
Naval Air Systems Command, USA
: J Electr Eng Electron Technol
Abstract
This paper reports on our atom interferometry program to measure magnetic field spatial and temporal gradients, accelerations and rotational accelerations. We first review the basic theory of atom interferometry and show that atom interferometers can be orders of magnitude more sensitive that their otherwise equal optical counterparts. We will then describe results from our ongoing experiments that use laser cooled atoms as the source for an atom interferometer designed to measure magnetic fields in noisy environments. We will also describe our experiments with atoms cooled in 2-dimensions for linear and rotational acceleration measurements. Finally, we will show how our results are affected by the use of Bose condensed atoms instead of cold atoms thermal atoms. We will finally discuss the tradeoff between the potential enhancements offered through the use of a Bose Einstein condensate and operational complexity.
Biography
