Phase shift in atom interferometry due to spacetime curvature

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a high-precision atom interferometer as a gravitational gradiometer, measuring spacetime curvature effects with macroscopic atomic wave packet separation and achieving sensitive detection of gravitational phase shifts.

Contribution

It introduces a novel dual atom interferometer setup capable of measuring gravitational curvature effects with high precision using a large baseline and advanced atom optics.

Findings

Achieved a resolution of 3×10⁻⁹ s⁻² per shot.

Measured a 1 rad phase shift induced by a nearby lead source mass.

Demonstrated the interplay of recoil effects and gravitational curvature in atom interferometry.

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 $3 \times 10^{-9}$ s$^{-2}$ per shot and measures a 1 rad phase shift induced by the source mass.