Speaker
Description
High-sensitivity gravity measurements are essential for environmental monitoring, natural resource exploration, and national security. Quantum gravimeters utilizing cold-atom interferometers have demonstrated high levels of accuracy, sensitivity, and long-term stability that outperforms traditional gravimeters based on falling corner cubes. We present improvements to the detection system of our table-top quantum gravimeter by using a spatially resolved state detection scheme. Two vertically separated light sheets in the horizontal plane create independent detection zones for the F=1 and F=2 ground states in Rb. Cold atoms traversing the light sheets fluoresce with an intensity proportional to the population in each state. Large diameter optics are used to increase the number of collected photons and therefore the signal-to-noise ratio of the quantum gravimeter. This detection system is also located ~20 cm below the release point of the cloud, which extends the total interrogation time up to 2T = 200 ms. Since the gravimeter sensitivity scales as T, these improvements will position our instrument near the state-of-the-art and allow it to serve as a high-accuracy gravity reference for other gravimeters.
| Keyword-1 | Quantum Sensing |
|---|---|
| Keyword-2 | Atom interferometry |
| Keyword-3 | Cold atom |