Berlin 2014 – scientific programme

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 16: Poster: Quantum information, micromechanical oscillators, matter wave optics, precision measurements and metrology

Q 16.82: Poster

Monday, March 17, 2014, 16:30–18:30, Spree-Palais

An inertial sensitive matter wave interferometer based on ³⁹K — •Logan Richardson, Henning Albers, Dennis Schlippert, Christian Meiners, Jonas Hartwig, Wolfgang Ertmer, and Ernst M. Rasel — Institut für Quantenoptik, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Welfengarten 1, 30167 Hannover

As part of an ongoing experiment that utilizes dual species matter-wave inteferometry to test Einstein’s equivalence principle, we have developed inertially sensitive matter-wave interferometers employing the atomic species ³⁹K and ⁸⁷Rb. In comparison to ⁸⁷Rb, the significantly lower mass and lower excited state hyperfine splitting result in ³⁹K being much harder to cool, thus making achievable temperatures the prime obstacle when realizing an interferometer with ³⁹K. We report on our potassium double-MOT system and techniques to overcome the inherent cooling problems, e.g. dark molasses cooling and an optical dipole trap for evaporative and/or sympathetic cooling. We show the first inertial sensitive ³⁹K matter wave interferometer allowing for determination of absolute local gravitational acceleration with pulse separation times of up to T=20ms in a Mach-Zehnder configuration. Moreover, we discuss prospects of simultaneous dual species interferometry.