https://doi.org/10.1140/epjqt/s40507-023-00165-2
Research
Polychromatic atom optics for atom interferometry
School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT, Edgbaston, UK
Received:
29
September
2022
Accepted:
11
February
2023
Published online:
8
March
2023
Coherent manipulation of atoms with atom-optic light pulses is central to atom interferometry. Achieving high pulse efficiency is essential for enhancing fringe contrast and sensitivity, in particular for large-momentum transfer interferometers which use an increased number of pulses. We perform an investigation of optimizing the frequency domain of pulses by using tailored polychromatic light fields, and demonstrate the possibility to deliver high-efficiency and resilient atom-optic pulses even in the situation of inhomogeneous atomic clouds and laser beams. We find that this approach is able to operate over long interrogation times despite spontaneous emission and to achieve experimentally relevant pulse efficiencies for clouds up to 
. This overcomes some of the most stringent barriers for large-momentum transfer and has the potential to reduce the complexity of atom interferometers. We show that polychromatic light pulses could enhance single-photon-based large-momentum transfer atom interferometry—achieving 
of momentum splitting with experimentally accessible parameters, which represents a significant improvement over the state-of-the art. The benefits of the method extend beyond atom interferometry and could enable groundbreaking advances in quantum state manipulation.
Key words: Atom-optics / Atom interferometry / Large momentum transfer
© The Author(s) 2023
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