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 / \surdHz 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

https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00834705/document

Detecting inertial effects with airborne matter-wave interferometry

Shor’s quantum algorithm factorizes integers, and implementing this is a benchmark test in the early development of quantum processors. Researchers now demonstrate this important test in a solid-state system: a circuit made up of four superconducting qubits factorizes the number 15.

/pdf/computing-prime-factors-with-a-josephson-phase-qubit-quantum-v72q034u6n.pdf

Computing prime factors with a Josephson phase qubit quantum processor

A new experiment using matter-wave interferometry confirms that different atoms free fall in gravity at the same rate.

Quantum Test of the Universality of Free Fall

This page shows some examples of multimedia files. It is also available at: http://www.ieee-uffc.org/tr/mexample.pdf. For submission of multimedia manuscripts to TUFFC, please follow “Information for Contributors” at: http://www.ieeeuffc.org/tr/contrib.pdf. Multimedia Example Created by Jian-yu Lu, Editor-in-Chief, 07/07/03 IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control Society 1. Color Figure: The IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control (TUFFC) now accepts color figures online with corresponding grayscale figures in print without additional charges if authors follow the multimedia manuscript submission procedure in the “Information for Contributors”. The “color figures” icon below indicates in the print that a color version of the figure is available online. It also links to the color figure submitted originally by the authors for viewing details. Because of the sizes of color figures and the additional editorial work such as making two sets of PostScript files in which they remain identical after replacing grayscale with color, authors should request color figures online only when it is necessary. The color figure must be in JPEG (Joint Photographic Expert Group) or GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) format to reduce file size and to decrease the bandwidth usage on the TUFFC server. Fig. 1. An eight-layer printed circuit board (PCB) used primarily for multi-channel ultrasound signal reception and storage. The board was designed in the Ultrasound Lab at The University of Toledo, led by Dr. Jian-yu Lu. It is one of the many PCBs designed for a high-frame rate medical ultrasound imaging system [1], which consists of 128 linear, ±144V peak, 0.05-10MHz, and 12-bit arbitrary waveform generators for the production of ultrasound signals or for other research purposes. 2. Movies: Please click on the movie icon to see a movie. The two movies below give you an idea on the file size versus movie quality. “VCD quality” here means 1150kbits/s for video and 224kbits/s for 16-bit MP2 stereo audio at 44.1KHz sampling rate. Fig. 2. An introduction to the Ultrasound Lab at The University of Toledo. 3. Movies and Animations: Please click on the movie icons to see movies or animations. Fig. 3. Circuit design and construction of the imaging system. 4. Movies and Animation: Please click on the movie icons to see movies or animation. Movie [File size: 785KB; Format: MPEG1; Resolution: 320X240; Duration: 9 seconds]

IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control

Chip-scale atomic devices combine elements of precision atomic spectroscopy, silicon micromachining, and advanced diode laser technology to create compact, low-power, and manufacturable instruments with high precision and stability. Microfabricated alkali vapor cells are at the heart of most of these technologies, and the fabrication of these cells is discussed in detail. We review the design, fabrication, and performance of chip-scale atomic clocks, magnetometers, and gyroscopes and discuss many applications in which these novel instruments are being used. Finally, we present prospects for future generations of miniaturized devices, such as photonically integrated systems and manufacturable devices, which may enable embedded absolute measurement of a broad range of physical quantities.

/pdf/chip-scale-atomic-devices-2t0mgeutgr.pdf

Chip-scale atomic devices

We present a compact and transportable inertial sensor for precision sensing of rotations and accelerations. The sensor consists of a dual atom interferometer operated with laser-cooled 87Rb. Raman processes are employed to coherently manipulate the matter waves. We describe and characterize the experimental apparatus. A method for passing from a compact geometry to an extended interferometer with three independent atom-light interaction zones is proposed and investigated. The extended geometry will enhance the sensitivity by more than two orders of magnitude which is necessary to achieve sensitivities better than 10-8rad/s/$\sqrt{\rm Hz}$.

A compact dual atom interferometer gyroscope based on laser-cooled rubidium

We report on the realization of a compact atomic Mach?Zehnder-type Sagnac interferometer of 13.7?cm length, which covers an area of 19?mm2 previously reported only for large thermal beam interferometers. According to Sagnac's formula, which holds for both light and atoms, the sensitivity for rotation rates increases linearly with the area enclosed by the interferometer. The use of cold atoms instead of thermal atoms enables miniaturization of Sagnac interferometers without sacrificing large areas. In comparison with thermal beams, slow atoms offer better matching of the initial beam velocity and the velocity with which the matter waves separate. In our case, the area is spanned by a cold atomic beam of 2.79?m?s?1, which is split, deflected and combined by driving a Raman transition between the two hyperfine ground states of 87Rb in three spatially separated light zones. The use of cold atoms requires a precise angular alignment and high wave front quality of the three independent light zones over the cloud envelope. We present a procedure for mutually aligning the beam splitters at the microradian level by making use of the atom interferometer itself in different configurations. With this method, we currently achieve a sensitivity of .

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1367-2630/14/1/015002/pdf

Self-alignment of a compact large-area atomic Sagnac interferometer

We report the first implementation of a Gauss sum factorization algorithm by an internal state Ramsey interferometer using cold atoms. A sequence of appropriately designed light pulses interacts with an ensemble of cold rubidium atoms. The final population in the involved atomic levels determines a Gauss sum. With this technique we factor the number N=263193.

Gauss sum factorization with cold atoms.

Narrow bandwidth interference filter-stabilized diode laser systems for the manipulation of neutral atoms

We present a compact and transportable inertial sensor for precision sensing of rotations and accelerations. The sensor consists of a dual Mach-Zehnder-type atom interferometer operated with laser-cooled $^{87}$Rb. Raman processes are employed to coherently manipulate the matter waves. We describe and characterize the experimental apparatus. A method for passing from a compact geometry to an extended interferometer with three independent atom-light interaction zones is proposed and investigated. The extended geometry will enhance the sensitivity by more than two orders of magnitude which is necessary to achieve sensitivities better than $10^{-8} $rad/s/$\sqrt{\rm Hz}$.

M. Gilowski

Papers

A compact dual atom interferometer gyroscope based on laser-cooled rubidium

Self-alignment of a compact large-area atomic Sagnac interferometer

Gauss sum factorization with cold atoms.

Narrow bandwidth interference filter-stabilized diode laser systems for the manipulation of neutral atoms

A compact dual atom interferometer gyroscope based on laser-cooled rubidium