In disordered media, quantum interference effects are expected to induce complete suppression of electron conduction. The phenomenon, known as Anderson localization, has a counterpart with classical ...waves that has been observed in acoustics, electromagnetism and optics, but a direct observation for particles remains elusive. Here, we report the observation of the three-dimensional localization of ultracold atoms in a disordered potential created by a speckle laser field. A phenomenological analysis of our data distinguishes a localized component of the resulting density profile from a diffusive component. The observed localization cannot be interpreted as the classical trapping of particles with energy below the classical percolation threshold in the disorder, nor can it be understood as quantum trapping in local potential minima. Instead, our data are compatible with the self-consistent theory of Anderson localization tailored to our system, involving a heuristic energy shift that offers scope for future interpretation. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
We propose a new detection strategy for gravitational waves (GWs) below a few hertz based on a correlated array of atom interferometers (AIs). Our proposal allows us to reduce the Newtonian noise ...(NN), which limits all ground based GW detectors below a few hertz, including previous atom interferometry-based concepts. Using an array of long baseline AI gradiometers yields several estimations of the NN, whose effect can thus be reduced via statistical averaging. Considering the km baseline of current optical detectors, a NN rejection of a factor of 2 could be achieved and tested with existing AI array geometries. Exploiting the correlation properties of the gravity acceleration noise, we show that a tenfold or more NN rejection is possible with a dedicated configuration. Considering a conservative NN model and the current developments in cold atom technology, we show that strain sensitivities below 1 x 10 super(-19)/radicalHz in the 0.3 - 3Hz frequency band can be within reach, with a peak sensitivity of 3 x 10 super(-23)/radicalHz at 2 Hz. Our proposed configuration could extend the observation window of current detectors by a decade and fill the gap between ground-based and space-based instruments.
We propose new multidimensional atom optics that can create coherent superpositions of atomic wave packets along three spatial directions. These tools can be used to generate light-pulse atom ...interferometers that are simultaneously sensitive to the three components of acceleration and rotation, and we discuss how to isolate these inertial components in a single experimental shot. We also present a new type of atomic gyroscope that is insensitive to parasitic accelerations and initial velocities. The ability to measure the full acceleration and rotation vectors with a compact, high-precision, low-bias inertial sensor could strongly impact the fields of inertial navigation, gravity gradiometry, and gyroscopy.
We present the MIGA experiment, an underground long baseline atom interferometer to study gravity at large scale. The hybrid atom-laser antenna will use several atom interferometers simultaneously ...interrogated by the resonant mode of an optical cavity. The instrument will be a demonstrator for gravitational wave detection in a frequency band (100 mHz-1 Hz) not explored by classical ground and space-based observatories, and interesting for potential astrophysical sources. In the initial instrument configuration, standard atom interferometry techniques will be adopted, which will bring to a peak strain sensitivity of Formula: see text at 2 Hz. This demonstrator will enable to study the techniques to push further the sensitivity for the future development of gravitational wave detectors based on large scale atom interferometers. The experiment will be realized at the underground facility of the Laboratoire Souterrain à Bas Bruit (LSBB) in Rustrel-France, an exceptional site located away from major anthropogenic disturbances and showing very low background noise. In the following, we present the measurement principle of an in-cavity atom interferometer, derive the method for Gravitational Wave signal extraction from the antenna and determine the expected strain sensitivity. We then detail the functioning of the different systems of the antenna and describe the properties of the installation site.
Matter-wave interferometers utilizing different isotopes or chemical elements intrinsically have different sensitivities, and the analysis tools available until now are insufficient for accurately ...estimating the atomic phase difference under many experimental conditions. In this work, we describe and demonstrate two new methods for extracting the differential phase between dual-species atom interferometers for precise tests of the weak equivalence principle (WEP). The first method is a generalized Bayesian analysis, which uses knowledge of the system noise to estimate the differential phase based on a statistical model. The second method utilizes a mechanical accelerometer to reconstruct single-sensor interference fringes based on measurements of the vibration-induced phase. An improved ellipse-fitting algorithm is also implemented as a third method for comparison. These analysis tools are investigated using both numerical simulations and experimental data from simultaneous 87Rb and 39K interferometers, and both new techniques are shown to produce bias-free estimates of the differential phase. We also report observations of phase correlations between atom interferometers composed of different chemical species. This correlation enables us to reject common-mode vibration noise by a factor of 730, and to make preliminary tests of the WEP with a sensitivity of per measurement with an interrogation time of T = 10 ms. We study the level of vibration rejection by varying the temporal overlap between interferometers in a symmetric timing sequence. Finally, we discuss the limitations of the new analysis methods for future applications of differential atom interferometry.
We report on the all-optical production of Bose-Einstein condensates in microgravity using a combination of grey molasses cooling, light-shift engineering and optical trapping in a painted potential. ...Forced evaporative cooling in a 3-m high Einstein elevator results in 4×10^{4} condensed atoms every 13.5 s, with a temperature as low as 35 nK. In this system, the atomic cloud can expand in weightlessness for up to 400 ms, paving the way for atom interferometry experiments with extended interrogation times and studies of ultracold matter physics at low energies on ground or in Space.
Inertial sensors relying on atom interferometry offer a breakthrough advance in a variety of applications, such as inertial navigation, gravimetry or ground- and space-based tests of fundamental ...physics. These instruments require a quiet environment to reach their performance and using them outside the laboratory remains a challenge. Here we report the first operation of an airborne matter-wave accelerometer set up aboard a 0g plane and operating during the standard gravity (1g) and microgravity (0g) phases of the flight. At 1g, the sensor can detect inertial effects more than 300 times weaker than the typical acceleration fluctuations of the aircraft. We describe the improvement of the interferometer sensitivity in 0g, which reaches 2 x 10-4 ms-2 / √Hz with our current setup. We finally discuss the extension of our method to airborne and spaceborne tests of the Universality of free fall with matter waves.
We show that the expansion of an initially confined interacting 1D Bose-Einstein condensate can exhibit Anderson localization in a weak random potential with correlation length sigma(R). For speckle ...potentials the Fourier transform of the correlation function vanishes for momenta k>2/sigma(R) so that the Lyapunov exponent vanishes in the Born approximation for k>1/sigma(R). Then, for the initial healing length of the condensate xi(in)>sigma(R) the localization is exponential, and for xi(in)<sigma(R) it changes to algebraic.
The sensitivity of an atomic interferometer increases when the phase evolution of its quantum superposition state is measured over a longer interrogation interval. In practice, a limit is set by the ...measurement process, which returns not the phase but its projection in terms of population difference on two energetic levels. The phase interval over which the relation can be inverted is thus limited to the interval −π/2,π/2 ; going beyond it introduces an ambiguity in the readout, hence a sensitivity loss. Here, we extend the unambiguous interval to probe the phase evolution of an atomic ensemble using coherence-preserving measurements and phase corrections, and demonstrate the phase lock of the clock oscillator to an atomic superposition state. We propose a protocol based on the phase lock to improve atomic clocks limited by local oscillator noise, and foresee the application to other atomic interferometers such as inertial sensors.
A Watt-level continuous and single frequency blue laser at 461 nm is obtained by frequency-doubling an amplified diode laser operating at 922 nm via a LBO crystal in a resonant Fabry-Pérot cavity. We ...achieved a best optical conversion efficiency equal to 87% with more than 1 W output power in the blue, and limited by the available input power. The frequency-converted beam is characterized in terms of long term power stability, residual intensity noise, and geometrical shape. The blue beam has a linewidth of the order of 1 MHz, and we used it to magneto-optically trap 88 Sr atoms on the 5s 2 1 S 0 – 5s5p 1 P 1 transition. The low-finesse, linear-cavity doubling system is very robust, maintains the lock for several days, and is compatible with a tenfold increase of the power levels which could be obtained with fully-fibered amplifiers and large mode area fibers.
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