Hamburg 2009 – scientific programme

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 32: Materiewellenoptik

Q 32.5: Talk

Wednesday, March 4, 2009, 15:00–15:15, Audi-B

Atom Interferometry in a mobile setup to measure local gravity — •Alexander Senger, Malte Schmidt, and Achim Peters — Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Institut für Physik, AG Optische Metrologie, Hausvogteiplatz 5-7, 10117 Berlin

GAIN (Gravimetric Atom Interferometer) is a new design for a mobile and robust gravimeter, which is based on interfering ensembles of laser cooled ⁸⁷Rb atoms in an atomic fountain configuration. With a targeted accuracy of a few parts in 10¹⁰ for the measurement of local gravity, g, this instrument would offer about an order of magnitude improvement in performance over the best currently available absolute gravimeters. Together with the capability to perform measurements directly at sites of geophysical interest, this will open up the possibility for a number of interesting applications.

We present first results of the operational interferometer setup and discuss the next steps necessary to achieve full accuracy. These will involve a thorough examination of the systematic effects, which are outlined briefly.