Topological phase shift in a cold-atom interferometer

Matter-wave interferences in a four-pulse version of a Ramsey-Bordé atom interferometer have been utilized to study phase shifts. A topological phase shift analogous to the scalar Aharonov-Bohm effect proposed for charged-particle interferences in the presence of a pulsed electrostatic potential has been investigated. The time-dependent potential has been generated by the interaction of a laser field with an induced atomic dipole without spatial variation along the interferometer arms. The atom interferometer has been run with laser-cooled magnesium atoms stored in a magneto-optical trap.Dedicated to H. Walther on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

I.C.E.: a transportable atomic inertial sensor for test in microgravity

We present the construction of an atom interferometer for inertial sensing in microgravity, as part of the I.C.E. (Interférométrie Cohérente pour l’Espace) collaboration. On-board laser systems have been developed based on fibre-optic components, which are insensitive to mechanical vibrations and acoustic noise, have sub-MHz line width, and remain frequency stabilised for weeks at a time. A compact, transportable vacuum system has been built, and used for laser cooling and magneto-optical trapping. We will use a mixture of quantum degenerate gases, bosonic ⁸⁷Rb and fermionic ⁴⁰K, in order to find the optimal conditions for precision and sensitivity of inertial measurements. Microgravity will be realised in parabolic flights lasting up to 20 s in an Airbus. We investigate the experimental limits of our apparatus, and show that the factors limiting the sensitivity of a long-interrogation-time atomic inertial sensor are the phase noise in reference-frequency generation for Raman-pulse atomic beam splitters and acceleration fluctuations during free fall. PACS 06.30.Gv; 39.20.+q; 42.60.By     

Interferometry with Ca atoms

Separated field excitation of a calcium atomic beam using four traveling laser fields represents two distinct atom interferometers utilizing the internal degrees of freedom of the atoms. Phase shifts between the atomic partial waves have been realized by phase shifts of the laser wave fields, by the ac-Stark shift, and by rotation of the interferometer (Sagnac effect). One particular interferometer can be selected by interaction of the atomic waves with extra laser fields. We furthermore report on the preparation of a laser cooled and deflected calcium atomic beam that can be utilized to largely increase the sensitivity of the interferometer.     

Algorithmic cooling in a momentum state quantum computer

We describe a quantum computer based upon the coherent manipulation of two-level atoms between discrete one-dimensional momentum states. Combinations of short laser pulses with kinetic energy dependent free phase evolution can perform the logical invert, exchange, controlled-NOT, and Hadamard operations on any qubits in the binary representation of the momentum state, as well as conditional phase inversion. These allow a binary right rotation, which halves the momentum distribution in a single coherent process. Fields for the coherent control of atomic momenta may thus be designed as quantum algorithms.     

Multilevel atomic Ramsey interferometry for precise parameter estimations

Multi-path (or multi-mode) entanglement has been proved to be a useful resource for sub-shot-noise sensitivity of phase estimation, which has aroused much research interest in quantum metrology recently. Various schemes of multi-path interferometers based on optical systems have been put forward. Here, we study a multi-state interferometer with multi-level atoms by projective measurements. Specifically, we investigate its ultimate sensitivity described by quantum Fisher information theory and find that the Cramer-Rao bound can be achieved. In particular, we investigate a specific scheme to improve the sensitivity of magnetometery with a three-state interferometry delivered by a single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center of diamond with tailor pulses. The impacts of imperfections of the atomic beam-splitter, described by the three-level quantum Fourier transform, on the sensitivity of phase estimation is also discussed.     

Measurement of transient near-infrared laser pulse wavefront with high precision by radial shearing interferometer

It is hard to measure the transient near-infrared pulse laser wavefront in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) system by conventional methods for its short pulse width, large energy, high power and large distortion. A circular radial shearing interferometer based on spatial phase modulation is proposed to measure the transient near-infrared laser pulse wavefront with high precision. Transient, highly precise measurement for near-infrared laser pulse wavefront, with pulse width of nanometer scale and central wavelength of 1064 nm, can be carried out with common path, no reference plane. The theory of wavefront reconstruction has been validated by the computer simulation, and an error less than 1/1000λ is obtained. Comparing with the results of ZYGO interferometer, an error less than 1/15λ for both peak valley and root mean square value, is gained with good repeatability. The system has already been used in the ICF system to test the pulsed laser wavefront, and can also be applied to other lasers of visible and infrared wavelengths.     

Determination of temporal correlation of ultrafast laser pulses using phase conjugation

A new time domain single shot conjugation autocorrelator is described. Three beams derived from the same initial laser pulse interact in a nonlinear medium to produce a backward signal wave in a 90° phase conjugate geometry. The pulse duration is determined from the spatial width of the phase conjugate beam emerging from the interaction region. Pulse duration measurements of pulses selected from a YAG laser train show that shorter pulses are generated toward the tail of the pulse train.     

Determining the phase-energy coupling coefficient in carrier-envelope phase measurements

For f-to-2f interferometers based on white-light generation in sapphire plates, the accuracy of the carrier-envelope (CE) phase measurement and stabilization is affected by the laser energy fluctuation. The coupling coefficient between the CE phase and the laser energy has been determined by modulating the pulse energy in an in-loop f-to-2f interferometer while measuring the CE phase variation with an out-loop interferometer. When the total spectral phase measured by the in-loop interferometer was locked, a 1% change in laser energy caused a 160 mrad shift in the CE phase of the output pulses.     

Non-Classical Behavior of Atoms in an Interferometer

Using the time-dependent wave function we have studied the properties of the atomic transverse motion in an interferometer, and the cause of the non-classical behavior of atoms reported by Kurtsiefer, Pfau, and Mlynek [Nature 386, 150 (1997)]. The transverse wave function is derived from the solution of the two-dimensional Schrödinger's equation, written in the form of the Fresnel–Kirchhoff diffraction integral. It is assumed that the longitudinal motion is classical. Comparing data of the space distribution and of the transverse momentum distribution in interferometers with one and two open slits, it follows that the atomic motion is influenced by the atomic matter wave and violates the laws of classical mechanics. However, the negative values of Wigner's function should not be taken as evidence that the atoms in an interferometer violate the classical statistical law of the addition of positive probabilities. This inference follows from the comparison of properties of Wigner's function and of the de Broglian probability density in phase space.     

Generation of frequency-chirped laser pulses by an electro-optic amplitude modulator

We propose a single electro-optic amplitude modulator to modulate both the intensity and the phase of the light of a diode laser to produce frequency-chirped light pulses in the nanosecond time range. The two-in-one property of the Mach–Zehnder type electro-optic amplitude modulator is used to create a specific device available for experiments with cooled atoms. The phase induced in each optical path of the Mach–Zehnder interferometer and the phase-to-intensity modulation ratio, the intrinsic chirp parameter of the device is determined by generating high order optical harmonics.     

近红外瞬态脉冲波前高精度干涉检测技术

惯性约束聚变(ICF)系统中高能瞬态脉冲激光由于脉冲时间短、能量高、波前畸变大,通常的检测方法难于检测脉冲激光波前。提出了一种基于空间相位调制技术可用于近红外瞬态波前高精度检测的环形径向剪切干涉仪。该系统可以以30~150 mm的圆瞳和方瞳口径、对波长为1064 nm的近红外纳秒级脉宽的脉冲激光波前实现共路、无参考面的瞬态、高精度的检测。系统的波前重构理论经过计算机仿真验证,精度达1/1000λ以上;检测结果与ZYGO数字波面干涉仪进行了比对,峰谷值、均方根值均优于1/15λ,并具有很好的可重复性。该系统目前已用于惯性约束聚变系统的脉冲检测,并且该技术适用于各种可见光和红外波段激光。     

Phase transition in a radiation-matter interaction with recoil and collisions

The standard model introduced to describe the collective atomic recoil of an ensemble of atoms interacting with a strong electromagnetic field has been here extended by the inclusion of collisions with a buffer gas. As a result, we find that in the thermodynamic limit the coherent emission of radiation exhibits a continuous phase transition upon increasing the pump intensity. The output laser field is strictly larger than 0 only above a critical value. We find that the transition is not associated with the onset of spatial ordering but rather with the onset of a synchronization between the polarization phase and spatial position. A coherence parameter is introduced to characterize the phase transition.     

Manifestation of Hamiltonian chaos in dissipative atomic transport in a standing-wave laser field

We simulate atomic ballistic transport in a standing-wave laser field in the framework of a Monte Carlo stochastic wavefunction approach in which the coherent Hamiltonian evolution is interrupted at random times by spontaneous emission events. It is shown in numerical experiments and confirmed analytically that the character of spatial and momentum diffusion of spontaneously emitting atoms changes abruptly in the atom-laser detuning regime where the deterministic Hamiltonian dynamics has been shown to be chaotic. Thus, we find a manifestation of underlying Hamiltonian chaos in the diffusive-like center-of-mass motion which can be observed in real experiments. The article is published in the original.     

Superradiant Rayleigh scattering of high-intensity short light pulses from a Bose-Einstein condensate of dilute atomic gases

Equations of a semiclassical model of superradiant Rayleigh scattering of high-intensity short light pulses from a Bose-Einstein condensate of dilute atomic gases are solved numerically taking into account the excitation of atoms by coherent Rayleigh radiation and their recoil in the backward direction. The evolution of the populations of coherent atomic states with a particular momentum is studied, and the pulse shape and the structure of the spectrum of such scattering are found in relation to the laser beam intensity and the recoil kinetic energy of atoms.     

Partitioning of the linear photon momentum in multiphoton ionization

The balance of the linear photon momentum in multiphoton ionization is studied experimentally. In the experiment argon and neon atoms are singly ionized by circularly polarized laser pulses with a wavelength of 800 and 1400 nm in the intensity range of 10(14)-10(15) W/cm2. The photoelectrons are measured using velocity map imaging. We find that the photoelectrons carry linear momentum corresponding to the photons absorbed above the field free ionization threshold. Our finding has implications for concurrent models of the generation of terahertz radiation in filaments.     

Reflection of thermal atoms by a pulsed standing wave

Reflection of thermal atoms by a pulsed standing wave with a duration in the nanosecond range is studied. The momentum distribution of the reflected atoms is determined by calculations based on the adiabatic atom-photon interactions. It is shown that with a proper choice of the field intensity and the pulse duration the standing-wave pattern functions as a row of independent atom mirrors. At an optimum choice of the parameter values, the fraction of the elastically reflected atoms is more than 20%. Furthermore, we show that the pulsed standing-wave mirror can be used to manipulate their final momentum distribution. When using laser pulses with an intensity of several tens of MW/cm², tens of thousands of atoms can be reflected by a single laser pulse. Received 3 December 1999 and Received in final form 25 April 2000     

大口径干涉仪系统传递函数校准

 波前功率谱密度(PSD)被用于评价ICF激光驱动器光学元件在中频区域的波前误差。目前主要采用大口径相移干涉仪检测ICF光学元件的波前畸变,通过付立叶变换获得波前的PSD分布。相移干涉仪在较高空间频率分量的测量上存在失真效应,因此需对干涉仪的空间频率传递函数进行校准。本文采用位相比较法测量大口径相移干涉仪的系统传递函数。我们采用衍射光学元件的制造工艺,设计、制作了标准的透射和反射位相元件,比较理论计算值与实测PSD值,分别获得了大口径相移干涉仪透射、反射测量模式的系统传递函数。     

Time resolved spectroscopy with femtosecond soft-x-ray pulses

The most challenging application of time resolved spectroscopy is to directly observe the structural and electronic dynamics. Here we present the combination of x-ray absorption spectroscopy with laser driven x-ray sources, offering atomic spatial and temporal resolution. Our new approaches for optimization of laser driven x-ray sources resulted in the demonstration of spatially coherent sub-20 fs x-ray pulses in a range up to several keV. We excited polycrystalline silicon with an ultrashort laser pulse and characterized the collective motion of atoms with time resolved x-ray absorption spectroscopy at a temporal resolution of less than 20 fs. Finally, we have shown the feasibility of probing the dynamics of the electronic structure of silicon and carbon with near edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy.     

Interferometry with entangled atoms

A quantum gravity-gradiometer consists of two spatially separated ensembles of atoms interrogated by pulses of a common laser beam. The laser pulses cause the probability amplitudes of atomic ground-state hyperfine levels to interfere, producing two, motion-sensitive, phase shifts, which allow the measurement of the average acceleration of each ensemble, and, via simple differencing, of the acceleration gradient. Here we propose entangling the quantum states of atoms from the two ensembles prior to the pulse sequence, and show that entanglement encodes their relative acceleration in a single interference phase which can be measured directly, with no need for differencing. Received 6 June 2002 / Received in final form 25 October 2002 Published online 28 January 2003