Atomic and optical physics

原子與光學物理 (PHYS7078)
113學年-2
Week 13: Atom interferometry,
藍劭宇 quantum sensing and metrology
Email: sylan@[Link]
Office: 629
[Link]
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 Sagnac effect
➢ Consider a circular, closed-loop interferometer as shown. Light from a laser source is split by a
beamsplitter at B along two paths, one clockwise and one counterclockwise. The light
propagates along the two paths and interferes at a second beamsplitter located at D.

➢ For a photon or particle moving with velocity v around a loop with radius r and
angular velocity Ω, the times to traverse the loop are given by

➢ Time difference of
where A is the area enclosed by the loop

➢ Using the usual relationship between phase and time, φ = ωt,

we can write the phase shift between the two paths as 2
 Sagnac effect
➢ Sagnac effect: Rotation induces a relative phase-shift between Coriolis force
𝒂𝑐 = −2𝛀 × v
the two paths of the interferometer

➢ To observe the atom in the inertial frame and

evaluate the effect of the rotating Raman
laser beams

➢ Imagine that the rotation is centered

around the middle pulse

➢ The total phase is the laser interaction phase,

propagation phase and separation phase

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 Sagnac effect
➢ The path deflected by the first Raman pulse
gets an additional momentum kick
0
T
2T

➢ This leads to a spatial separation of

➢ The separation phase shift:

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 Sagnac effect
➢ The propagation phase

➢ The Lagrangian is determined by

➢ The Coriolis acceleration adds a perturbation to the free particle

Lagrangian

➢ The phase shift becomes

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 Sagnac effect
➢ Rotations also lead to a Doppler shift in the laser
frequencies, which changes the laser phase

➢ Giving rise to an additional laser phase

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 Sagnac effect
➢ The total phase due to rotation

➢ Compared with optical gyroscope

➢ The phase sensitivity scales as the ratio of the energies of the interfering particles, 𝑚𝑐2/ℏ𝜔.
For typical values of 𝑚 and 𝜔, this leads to a factor of 1011 improvement in the inherent
phase sensitivity of an atom interferometer over an optical interferometer

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 Sagnac effect
➢ A tip-tilt mirror to remove the influence of the Coriolis force from Earth’s rotation

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PRL 108, 090402 (2012)
 Newton’s constant G
➢ The Newtonian constant of gravitation G is one of the most fundamental constants of
classical physics

➢ There is no definitive relationship between G

and the other fundamental constants, and
there is no theoretical prediction for its value
➢ Least known constant (tens of part per
million uncertainty)
➢ Large discrepancies between different
measurements

➢ Most previous experiments performed were

based on the Cavendish type torsion balance Nature 510, 518–521 (2014)
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 Newton’s constant G
➢ At equilibrium, the torque on the torsion wire balance the gravitational pull of the masses

➢ The torsion coefficient is given by

S. Kelley/NIST Wikipedia

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 Newton’s constant G
1 2
1 2
𝑑𝑚
𝐿 𝑧, 𝑧ሶ = 𝑇 − 𝑈 = 𝑀𝑧ሶ − 𝑚𝑔𝑧 + 𝑚𝛼𝑧 + 𝐺 න
2 2 𝑟

➢ 24 Tungsten Alloy Cylinders, total mass of 514 kg

Nature 510, 518–521 (2014)

G=6.67191(99)x10-11m3kg-1s-2 150 ppm 11

 Fine structure constant
➢ A fundamental physical constant which quantifies the strength of the electromagnetic
interaction between elementary charged particles

➢ Rydberg constant in terms of energy hcR =

1
mec 2α 2
2

➢ Rydberg constant, electron to proton mass ratio, atom mass to proton mass ratio
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can be measured at 10−11 level or less.
 Fine structure constant
➢ The fine-structure constant is a crucial parameter for testing quantum electrodynamics
(QED) and the standard model. This test relies on the comparison between the measured
value of the electron gyromagnetic anomaly 𝑎𝑒 = (𝑔𝑒 − 2)/2 (where 𝑔𝑒 is the electron g
factor) and its theoretical value
➢ : Dirac equation says ge=2 and QED predicts ge>2

➢ Electron in a Penning trap: measuring cyclotron frequency

relative contributions to the

electron anomaly
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Physical Review Letters, 100, 120801 (2008)
 Recoil frequency measurements
➢ Consider an atom of mass 𝑚 witha velocity 𝑣𝑖 and focus on two internal electronic states of
the atom: |𝑎 > and |𝑏 >. These states have energies separated by ℏ𝜔𝑎 − ℏ𝜔𝑏 .
➢ A laser with frequency 𝜔𝐿 (corresponds to a photon momentum ħ𝐤, where 𝑘 = |k| = 𝜔𝐿/𝑐,
representing the laser's wavenumber) is near the resonance and is absorbed by the atom.
➢ Before the photon's absorption, the total energy and momentum of the system
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𝐸𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 = 𝑚 𝐯𝑖 2 + ħ𝜔𝑎 + ħ𝜔𝐿 ; 𝐩𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 = 𝑚𝐯𝑖 + ħ𝐤
2
➢ Upon absorbing the photon, the atom also gains the photon's momentum, resulting in a
velocity increase Δ𝐯 in the photon's direction. The energy and momentum after absorption
1
𝐸𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 = 𝑚 𝐯𝑖 + Δ𝐯 2 + ħ𝜔𝑏; 𝑝𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 = 𝑚(𝐯𝑖 + Δ𝐯)
2
➢ By energy and momentum conservation
ℏ𝑘 2 1 The first term is the Doppler shift and
𝜔𝐿 − 𝜔𝑎𝑏 = 𝐯𝑖 ∙ 𝐤 + = 𝐯𝑖 ∙ 𝐤 + 𝜔𝑟𝑒𝑐
2𝑚 2 the second term is the recoil shift 14
 Recoil frequency measurements
➢ Ramsey-Bordé interferometer: four 𝜋/2 pulses with pulse separation time 𝑇, 𝑇’, and 𝑇,
respectively
➢ The propagation phase: we first calculate
the atom’s velocity 𝑣𝑖 and position 𝑧𝑖 just
before the 𝑖th 𝜋/2 pulse

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Joel Hensley, thesis, Stanford University
 Recoil frequency measurements
➢ The propagation phase between the first and second 𝜋/2 pulse

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 Recoil frequency measurements
➢ Laser interaction phase: The laser phases of the pulses are 𝜙1 , 𝜙2 , 𝜙3 , and 𝜙4

➢ 𝑘𝑧 term

➢ 𝑘1 = 𝑘2 = 𝑘3 = 𝑘4 = 𝑘𝐿 = 𝑘

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 Recoil frequency measurements
➢ −𝜔𝑡 term
➢ The resonance frequency 𝜔𝑖 for the 𝑖th π/2 pulse is

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 Recoil frequency measurements
➢ −𝜔𝑡 term

➢ Laser interaction phase

➢ Total phase

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 Fine structure constant

81 parts per trillion (ppt)

Nature 588.7836 (2020), pp. 61-65

➢ Atom interferometer is an independent measurement 20

 Equivalence Principle
➢ The Equivalence Principle (EP): The basis of General Relativity

➢ All types of mass-energy are coupled universally to gravitation, i.e. the gravitational
interaction is independent of composition, charge, flavor, etc…

➢ Equivalence of gravitational and inertial mass: the

gravitational force experienced locally while standing
on a massive body (such as the Earth) is the same as
the pseudo-force experienced by an observer in a non-
inertial (accelerated) frame of reference

➢ Several models of dark matter, dark energy, and

unification scenarios break the EP

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 Universality of free fall
➢ Weak Equivalence Principle (WEP)
[Link]
_15_feather_and_hammer_drop.ogv
➢ The Eotvös ratio 𝜂,
➢ Ground experiments are ultimately limited by local gravity gradients and uncertainties in
the positioning of the test masses
➢ Space offers long free fall times and a quiet, well controlled environment

➢ Micro-Satellite with Compensated Drag

for Observing the Principle of
Equivalence, MICROSCOPE

➢ Comparing two accelerometers

η(Ti, Pt)=[−1.5±2.3(stat)±1.5(syst)]×10−15
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 129, 121102 (2022)
 Universality of free fall
➢ Double free-falling atom interferometer

➢ Large scale atomic fountain ➢ STE-QUEST (Space-Time Explorer and

QUantum Equivalence principle Space Test)

Goal: η~10−17
η~10−12 Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 191101 (2020) 23
 Universality of free fall
➢ Double atom interferometer with non-classical states (quantum superpositions):
quantum test of the equivalence principle

➢ According to the mass–energy equivalence, we introduce internal energy of atoms

𝐻𝛼
𝑀𝛼 = 𝑚𝛼 + 2 where 𝛼 = inertial, gravitational
𝑐
𝐻𝛼 are the contributions of the internal energy
to the inertial and gravitational mass

➢ On the ground: η~10−9

Nat. Commun. 8, 15529 (2017)
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 Atomic clocks
➢ The definition of the second: The second is the duration of 9 192 631 770 periods of the
radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground
state of the Cs-133 atom
➢ The output from the clock is an electromagnetic wave at a fixed frequency
➢ Strictly speaking, this is a frequency standard, not a clock
e

feedback E=hf
g
Electromagnetic
radiation
atomic transition frequency, f

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 Atomic clocks

Microwave e
g f
radiation
few GHz ~ 109 Hz

[Link]

Optical f
radiation NIST fountain clock
optical
g frequency
few hundred THz ~ 1014 Hz

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 Atomic clocks
➢ The instability of an atomic clock is specified by its Allan deviation

where Δν is the spectroscopic linewidth of the clock , N is the number of atoms or ions used in
a single measurement, Tc is the time required for one cycle, and τ is the averaging period

➢ Δν include Δν𝑠𝑡 statistical uncertainty

and Δν𝑠𝑦 systematic effects e 1.0

0.8
e

Excitation probability
f’ 0.6
Δ𝑓𝑠𝑡 =11 Hz
f 0.4

0.2
g
g 0.0
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30
Frequency detuning from line centre (Hz)
Unperturbed atomic Perturbed frequency that is seen
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transition frequency by the probe
 Atomic clocks
➢ Progress in atomic clock measurements

Fractional inaccuracy

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 Atomic clocks
➢ Gravitational redshift: phenomenon that electromagnetic waves or photons travelling
out of a gravitational well lose energy

➢ If you place two identical clocks:

• Clock A at the bottom of a tower (stronger gravity)
• Clock B at the top (weaker gravity)
Then Clock A will tick slower than Clock B when compared over time.
A photon emitted from A and received by B will appear redshifted.

➢ GPS clocks in orbit tick faster than clocks on Earth by

about 45 μs per day due to gravitational redshift.

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Atomic clocks

Nature 602, 420 - 424 (2022) 30