A Bose-condensed, simultaneous dual-species Mach–Zehnder atom interferometer

This paper presents the first realization of a simultaneous ^87 Rb– ^85 Rb Mach–Zehnder atom interferometer with Bose-condensed atoms. A number of ambitious proposals for precise terrestrial and space based tests of the weak equivalence principle rely on such a system. This implementation utilizes h...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: C C N Kuhn, G D McDonald, K S Hardman, S Bennetts, P J Everitt, P A Altin, J E Debs, J D Close, N P Robins
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2014-01-01
Series:New Journal of Physics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/16/7/073035
Description
Summary:This paper presents the first realization of a simultaneous ^87 Rb– ^85 Rb Mach–Zehnder atom interferometer with Bose-condensed atoms. A number of ambitious proposals for precise terrestrial and space based tests of the weak equivalence principle rely on such a system. This implementation utilizes hybrid magnetic-optical trapping to produce spatially overlapped condensates with a repetition rate of 20 s. A horizontal optical waveguide with co-linear Bragg beamsplitters and mirrors is used to simultaneously address both isotopes in the interferometer. We observe a non–linear phase shift on a non-interacting ^85 Rb interferometer as a function of interferometer time, T , which we show arises from inter-isotope scattering with the co-incident ^85 Rb interferometer. A discussion of implications for future experiments is given.
ISSN:1367-2630