Limits to the sensitivity of a low noise compact atomic gravimeter

TL;DR

This paper analyzes phase noise sources in a compact atomic gravimeter, demonstrating high sensitivity with a simple vibration compensation method using a low noise seismometer.

Contribution

It provides a detailed theoretical and experimental analysis of phase noise in atomic interferometers and introduces a robust vibration compensation technique.

Findings

Achieved a short-term acceleration sensitivity of 1.4×10⁻⁸g at 1s

Demonstrated effective vibration noise mitigation using a low noise seismometer

Validated the approach with both theoretical and experimental results

Abstract

A detailed analysis of the most relevant sources of phase noise in an atomic interferometer is carried out, both theoretically and experimentally. Even a short interrogation time of 100 ms allows our cold atom gravimeter to reach an excellent short term sensitivity to acceleration of $1.4\times 10^{-8}$g at 1s. This result relies on the combination of a low phase noise laser system, efficient detection scheme and good shielding from vibrations. In particular, we describe a simple and robust technique of vibration compensation, which is based on correcting the interferometer signal by using the AC acceleration signal measured by a low noise seismometer.