Sagnac Tractor Atom Interferometer on Photonic Integrated Circuit

TL;DR

This paper proposes a novel Sagnac tractor atom interferometer design on a photonic integrated circuit, utilizing counter-rotating optical lattices to trap and manipulate atoms for precise rotation sensing.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical framework and experimental design for a PIC-based atom interferometer using evanescent fields, with detailed modeling of atom dynamics and performance evaluation.

Findings

Developed quantum models for atom dynamics in the interferometer.

Computed field modes and trapping potentials for $^{87}$Rb atoms.

Evaluated non-adiabaticity, fidelity, and sensitivity of the design.

Abstract

We study the theory of, and propose an experimental design for, a Sagnac tractor atom interferometer based on a photonic integrated circuit (PIC). The atoms are trapped in counter-rotating azimuthal optical lattices, formed by interfering evanescent fields of laser modes injected into circular PIC waveguides. We develop quantum models for the radial and azimuthal dynamics of the interfering atoms in adiabatic frames, which provide computational efficiency. The theory is applied to an exemplary PIC, for which we first compute field modes and atom trapping potentials for $^{87}$Rb. We then evaluate non-adiabaticity, fidelity, and sensitivity of the exemplary PIC.