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Phase and intensity control of lasers for atom interferometry

Phase and intensity control of lasers for atom interferometry
Phase and intensity control of lasers for atom interferometry
Atom interferometry is a highly versatile experimental technique for precision measurement, with applications in inertial sensing and tests of fundamental physics. Such interferometers rely on high fidelity transfer of atoms between internal states, which can be challenging when working with thermal atom clouds, where a range of resonance frequencies exists. Inhomogeneities in the spatial intensity distribution of the manipulation lasers can also give rise to a range of coupling strengths; both of these effects serve to reduce the fidelity of coherent manipulation operations.

Composite pulses offer one route to high fidelity coherent manipulations. In this thesis we investigate the performance of composite pulses in a thermal cloud of Rubidium 85. We find remarkable agreement between theory and experimental investigation of composite inversion pulses, and build on this to model the performance of such pulses in atom interferometers. We also find excellent agreement between our model and the first experimental demonstration of an application of interferometry in the cooling of atoms; this is the first step towards implementing this cooling method in complex structures like molecules.
Gregory, Rachel
8a544eeb-87d2-496b-8d26-6ddfe4c10ead
Gregory, Rachel
8a544eeb-87d2-496b-8d26-6ddfe4c10ead
Freegarde, Timothy
01a5f53b-d406-44fb-a166-d8da9128ea7d

Gregory, Rachel (2015) Phase and intensity control of lasers for atom interferometry. University of Southampton, Physical Sciences and Engineering, Doctoral Thesis, 191pp.

Record type: Thesis (Doctoral)

Abstract

Atom interferometry is a highly versatile experimental technique for precision measurement, with applications in inertial sensing and tests of fundamental physics. Such interferometers rely on high fidelity transfer of atoms between internal states, which can be challenging when working with thermal atom clouds, where a range of resonance frequencies exists. Inhomogeneities in the spatial intensity distribution of the manipulation lasers can also give rise to a range of coupling strengths; both of these effects serve to reduce the fidelity of coherent manipulation operations.

Composite pulses offer one route to high fidelity coherent manipulations. In this thesis we investigate the performance of composite pulses in a thermal cloud of Rubidium 85. We find remarkable agreement between theory and experimental investigation of composite inversion pulses, and build on this to model the performance of such pulses in atom interferometers. We also find excellent agreement between our model and the first experimental demonstration of an application of interferometry in the cooling of atoms; this is the first step towards implementing this cooling method in complex structures like molecules.

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Published date: November 2015
Organisations: University of Southampton, Physics & Astronomy

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 388515
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/388515
PURE UUID: f775346b-5f04-486e-aa00-575ff4b17975
ORCID for Timothy Freegarde: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-0680-1330

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Date deposited: 29 Feb 2016 12:24
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:17

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Contributors

Author: Rachel Gregory
Thesis advisor: Timothy Freegarde ORCID iD

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