Using time reversal symmetry for sensitive incoherent matter-wave Sagnac interferometry

TL;DR

This paper develops a theory for incoherent matter-wave Sagnac interferometers leveraging time reversal symmetry, enabling sensitive rotation measurements with incoherent sources and revealing phase rigidity properties similar to electronic systems.

Contribution

It introduces a novel theoretical framework for incoherent matter-wave interferometry using time reversal symmetry, expanding the potential for rotation sensing with incoherent sources.

Findings

Interferometer configurations exhibit phase rigidity similar to electronic Aharonov-Bohm systems.

Operation with incoherent sources is possible due to equal-length counterpropagating paths.

Rotation sensitivity scales inversely with the square root of the finesse.

Abstract

We present a theory of the transmission of incoherent guided matter-waves through Sagnac interferometers. Interferometer configurations with only one input and one output port have a property similar to the phase rigidity observed in the transmission through Aharonov-Bohm interferometers in coherent mesoscopic electronics. This property is connected to the existence of counterpropagating paths of equal length and enables the operation of such matter-wave interferometers with incoherent sources. High finesse interferometers of this kind have a rotation sensitivity inversely proportional to the square root of the finesse.