J. H. T. Burke

Measurement of the ac Stark shift with a guided matter-wave interferometer

We demonstrate the effectiveness of a guided-wave Bose-Einstein condensate interferometer for practical measurements. Taking advantage of the large arm separations obtainable in our interferometer, the energy levels of the 87Rb atoms in one arm of the interferometer are shifted by a calibrated laser beam. The resulting phase shifts are used to determine the ac polarizability at a range of frequencies near and at the atomic resonance. The measured values are in good agreement with theoretical expectations. However, we observe a broadening of the transition near the resonance, an indication of collective light scattering effects. This nonlinearity may prove useful for the production and control of squeezed quantum states.

Compact implementation of a scanning transfer cavity lock

We describe an implementation of a scanning transfer cavity laser lock that is based on a commercial optical spectrum analyzer and an inexpensive computer microcontroller. The lock performs as well as a standard saturated absorption lock for frequency differences of several GHz. It offers the advantages of locking at arbitrary frequencies, having a large capture range, and allowing complex control mechanisms to be implemented via software.

Confinement effects in a guided-wave atom interferometer with millimeter-scale arm separation

Guided-wave atom interferometers measure interference effects using atoms held in a confining potential. In one common implementation, the confinement is primarily two dimensional, and the atoms move along the nearly free dimension after being manipulated by an off-resonant standing wave laser beam. In this configuration, residual confinement along the nominally free axis can introduce a phase gradient to the atoms that limits the arm separation of the interferometer. We experimentally investigate this effect in detail, and show that it can be alleviated by having the atoms undergo a more symmetric motion in the guide. This can be achieved by either using additional laser pulses or by allowing the atoms to freely oscillate in the potential. With these techniques, we demonstrate interferometer measurement times up to

High-fidelity manipulation of a Bose-Einstein condensate using an optical standing wave

72\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{ms}

Suspension of atoms and gravimetry using a pulsed standing wave

and arm separations up to

Implementation of a Bose Einstein condensate gyroscope

0.42\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{mm}

Linewidth broadening in a ^87Rb Bose-Einstein Condensate

with a well controlled phase, or times of

Confinement effects in guided-wave atom interferometer with mm-scale arm separation

0.91\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{s}

Compact gravity gradiometry with a Bose-Einstein condensate interferometer

and separations of

Precise manipulation of a Bose-Einstein condensate using Bragg interactions

1.7\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{mm}