Species-selective lattice launch for precision atom interferometry

Abstract

Long-baseline precision tests based on atom interferometry require drastic control over the initial external degrees of freedom of atomic ensembles to reduce systematic effects. The use of optical lattices (OLs) is a highly accurate method to manipulate atomic states in position and momentum allowing excellent control of the launch in atomic fountains. The simultaneous lattice launch of two atomic species, as required in a quantum test of the equivalence principle, is however problematic due to crosstalk effects. In this article, we propose to selectively address two species of alkalines by applying two OLs at or close to magic-zero wavelengths of the atoms. The proposed scheme applies in general for a pair of species with a vastly different ac Stark shift to a laser wavelength. We illustrate the principle by studying a fountain launch of condensed ensembles of ^87 Rb and ^41 K initially co-located. Numerical simulations confirm the fidelity of our scheme up to few nm and nm s ^−1 in inter-species differential position and velocity, respectively. This result is a pre-requisite for the next performance level in precision tests.

Keywords

• atom interferometry
• equivalence principle
• atomic fountains
• cold atoms
• Bose–Einstein condensates
• optical lattices