Guided matter wave inertial sensing in a miniature physics package

TL;DR

This paper presents a miniaturized atomic matter wave inertial sensor that uses guided atoms in an optical lattice, enabling high-precision measurements in compact, dynamic environments with scalable momentum transfer capabilities.

Contribution

It introduces a novel guided matter wave interferometer within a tiny physics package, combining large momentum transfer with continuous guiding to enhance inertial sensing.

Findings

Achieved up to 8$armathbb{k}$ momentum transfer using Bragg pulses and Bloch oscillations.

Maintained atoms in a co-moving optical lattice during most of the cycle, reducing wall collisions.

Demonstrated potential for scalable, portable inertial sensors in real-world applications.

Abstract

We describe an ultra-compact ($\sim 10$ cm$^3$ physics package) inertial sensor based on atomic matter waves that are guided within an optical lattice during almost the entire interferometer cycle. We demonstrate large momentum transfer (LMT) of up to 8$\hbar k$ photon momentum with a combination of Bragg pulses and Bloch oscillations with scalability to larger numbers of photons. Between momentum transfer steps, we maintain the atoms in a co-moving optical lattice waveguide so that the atoms are in free space only during the Bragg pulses. Our guided matter wave approach paves the way for atomic inertial sensing in dynamic environments in which untrapped atoms would otherwise quickly collide with the walls of a miniature chamber.