Interleaved Atom Interferometry for High Sensitivity Inertial Measurements

• Published in: arXiv.org
• Main Authors: Savoie, D, Altorio, M, Fang, B, Sidorenkov, L A, Geiger, R, Landragin, A
• Format: Paper Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ithaca Cornell University Library, arXiv.org 08.01.2019
• Subjects: Atom interferometry; Dark matter; Dynamic stability; Fiber optics; Gravitational waves; Gyroscopes; Inertial sensing devices; Interferometry; Interrogation; Magnetic measurement; Navigation; Optical fibers; Physics - Atomic Physics; Physics - Instrumentation and Detectors; Physics - Quantum Physics; Questioning; Sampling; Sensitivity; Sensors
• ISSN: 2331-8422
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.1808.10801

Cold-atom inertial sensors target several applications in navigation, geoscience and tests of fundamental physics. Reaching high sampling rates and high inertial sensitivities, obtained with long interrogation times, represents a challenge for these applications. We report on the interleaved operation of a cold-atom gyroscope, where 3 atomic clouds are interrogated simultaneously in an atom interferometer featuring a 3.75 Hz sampling rate and an interrogation time of 801 ms. Interleaving improves the inertial sensitivity by efficiently averaging vibration noise, and allows us to perform dynamic rotation measurements in a so-far unexplored range. We demonstrate a stability of \(3\times 10^{-10}\) rad.s\(^{-1}\), which competes with the best stability levels obtained with fiber-optics gyroscopes. Our work validates interleaving as a key concept for future atom-interferometry sensors probing time-varying signals, as in on-board navigation and gravity-gradiometry, searches for dark matter, or gravitational wave detection.