Robust Atom Interferometry with Super-Gaussian Pulses against Thermal Velocity Spread

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that super-Gaussian pulses significantly improve the robustness and contrast of atom interferometers against thermal velocity spread and detuning errors, outperforming traditional rectangular pulses.

Contribution

It introduces the use of super-Gaussian pulse shaping in atom interferometry and shows its advantages over Gaussian and rectangular pulses through numerical simulations.

Findings

Super-Gaussian pulses outperform rectangular pulses under thermal conditions.

4th-order super-Gaussian pulses achieve up to 90% contrast improvement.

Super-Gaussian pulses offer enhanced robustness against combined errors.

Abstract

Laser frequency fluctuation and atomic thermal motion can lead to errors in pulse duration and detuning in cold atom interferometry, thereby reducing measurement stability and fringe contrast. To address this issue, we investigate the use of super-Gaussian pulses, which are characterized by smooth temporal profiles and centralized energy distribution, in the beam-splitting and reflection stages of an atom interferometer. Through numerical simulations, we compare the performance of rectangular, Gaussian, and 2nd- to 10th-order super-Gaussian pulses subject to deviations in pulse duration and detuning. Our results show that both Gaussian and super-Gaussian pulses offer a significant advantage over traditional rectangular pulses, particularly under thermal conditions where velocity spread is prominent. We find that 4th-order pulses achieving up to a 90\% improvement in contrast over rectangular pulses under realistic conditions, and while their peak performance at very low temperatures is comparable to that of Gaussian pulses, they demonstrate enhanced robustness against combined detuning and pulse-length errors. These findings demonstrate that super-Gaussian pulse shaping is an effective method for enhancing the robustness of atom interferometers against errors induced by thermal motion.