Interacting atomic interferometry for rotation sensing approaching the Heisenberg Limit

TL;DR

This paper investigates how strongly interacting atoms in ring-shaped traps can be used for precision rotation sensing, potentially surpassing shot-noise limits by leveraging entanglement and topological superpositions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach using Luttinger liquid theory to analyze interacting atom interferometers, demonstrating improved sensitivity over non-interacting systems.

Findings

Interacting atoms can enhance rotation sensing sensitivity.

The system can operate beyond the atomic shot-noise limit.

Analogy with superconducting phase-slip qubits provides new insights.

Abstract

Atom interferometers provide exquisite measurements of the properties of non-inertial frames. While atomic interactions are typically detrimental to good sensing, efforts to harness entanglement to improve sensitivity remain tantalizing. Here we explore the role of interactions in an analogy between atomic gyroscopes and SQUIDs, motivated by recent experiments realizing ring shaped traps for ultracold atoms. We explore the one-dimensional limit of these ring systems with a moving weak barrier, such as that provided by a blue-detuned laser beam. In this limit, we employ Luttinger liquid theory and find an analogy with the superconducting phase-slip qubit, in which the topological charge associated with persistent currents can be put into superposition. In particular, we find that strongly-interacting atoms in such a system could be used for precision rotation sensing. We compare the performance of this new sensor to an equivalent non-interacting atom interferometer, and find improvements in sensitivity and bandwidth beyond the atomic shot-noise limit.