https://doi.org/10.1140/epjqt/s40507-022-00140-3
Research
Tunneling gravimetry
1
Technische Universität Darmstadt, Fachbereich Physik, Institut für Angewandte Physik, Schlossgartenstr. 7, D-64289, Darmstadt, Germany
2
Institut für Quantenphysik and Center for Integrated Quantum Science and Technology (IQST), Universität Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, D-89069, Ulm, Germany
3
Hagler Institute for Advanced Study and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering (IQSE), Texas A&M University, 77843-4242, College Station, TX, USA
4
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 91109, Pasadena, CA, USA
a patrik.schach@tu-darmstadt.de, patrik.schach@gmail.com
Received:
19
May
2022
Accepted:
12
July
2022
Published online:
2
August
2022
We examine the prospects of utilizing matter-wave Fabry–Pérot interferometers for enhanced inertial sensing applications. Our study explores such tunneling-based sensors for the measurement of accelerations in two configurations: (a) a transmission setup, where the initial wave packet is transmitted through the cavity and (b) an out-tunneling scheme with intra-cavity generated initial states lacking a classical counterpart. We perform numerical simulations of the complete dynamics of the quantum wave packet, investigate the tunneling through a matter-wave cavity formed by realistic optical potentials and determine the impact of interactions between atoms. As a consequence we estimate the prospective sensitivities to inertial forces for both proposed configurations and show their feasibility for serving as inertial sensors.
Key words: Matter-wave interferometer / Quantum tunneling / Fabry–Pérot interferometer / Accelerometry / Gravimetry / Quantum sensing
© The Author(s) 2022
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