STA-Mediated Interferometry with a Single Trapped Particle

TL;DR

The paper discusses new methods for using trapped particles in interferometry to detect forces and measure properties like ion mass.

Contribution

A new protocol is introduced that uses a shaken optical lattice to generate spin-dependent forces for interferometry.

Findings

A protocol for detecting weak unknown forces using a single ion in a harmonic potential was developed.

A new design using moving spin-dependent trapping potentials was proposed, eliminating the need for potential rotation.

The shaken optical lattice protocol allows for additional measurements, such as the mass of the trapped ion.

Abstract

We reviewand update schemes for different measurements using STA-mediated guided interferometry with a single trapped particle. STA stands for “shortcuts to adiabaticity”, a set of techniques to achieve the results of adiabatic dynamics in shorter times. In the first scheme we presented a protocol aimed at detecting weak unknown forces. It consisted of a single ion trapped in a harmonic potential and driven by time-and-spin-dependent forces generated via off-resonant lasers. Our approach provided stability and the independence of the results on the motional states for the small-oscillations regime. We could, also, design faster-than-adiabatic processes with sensitivity control. However, it required a rotation of the trapping potential at the moment the experiment starts. A much more practical and broadly applicable design was then developed, where no rotation is involved. Here, a single atom is driven by two moving spin-dependent trapping potentials where we guide the arms of the interferometer via shortcuts to adiabatic paths. In this paper, in addition to a brief review of these two previous proposals, we revisit the first scheme and present a new protocol where the spin-dependent driving force is generated via a “shaken” optical lattice. This opens the possibility for additional interferometric measurements beyond an unknown force, for example, the mass of the trapped ion, while still preserving the advantages of the previously proposed method.

Figures