Quantum sensing of acceleration and rotation by interfering magnetically launched atoms

Sci. Adv. 10, eadq4498 (2024) · DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adq4498 · arXiv: 2405.13689

License: CC BY-NC 4.0.

Abstract

Accurate and stable measurement of inertial quantities is essential in geophysics, geodesy, fundamental physics, and inertial navigation. Here, we present an architecture for a compact cold-atom accelerometer-gyroscope based on a magnetically launched atom interferometer. Characterizing the launching technique, we demonstrate 700–parts per million gyroscope scale factor stability over 1 day, while acceleration and rotation rate bias stabilities of 7 × 10 −7 meters per second squared and 4 × 10 −7 radians per second are reached after 2 days of integration of the cold-atom sensor. Hybridizing it with a classical accelerometer and gyroscope, we correct their drift and bias to achieve respective 100-fold and 3-fold increase on the stability of the hybridized sensor compared to the classical ones. Compared to a state-of-the-art atomic gyroscope, the simplicity and scalability of our launching technique make this architecture easily extendable to a compact full six-axis inertial measurement unit, providing a pathway toward autonomous positioning and orientation using cold-atom sensors.

Figures

18 panels with data across 5 figures. Each panel page shows the plot, its columns and its files; each data.csv begins with a header naming the paper, the panel, the source, the license and the provenance route.

Fig. 1

Illustrative figure, no extractable data. Shown in the paper PDF.

Fig. 2

• panel (a): Launch velocity measurement spectrum: proportion of atoms in $F=2$ ($P_2$) against Raman frequency difference (kHz) from the hyperfine splitting, one point per experimental cycle. The two side peaks are the counterpropagating transitions, separated by $\Delta\nu$; the middle peak is the copropagating one. data.csv
• panel (b): Allan deviation of the launch velocity ($\mu$m/s) against integration time $\tau$ (s), from one day of launch velocity measurements, one per 100 s Raman spectrum. data.csv
• panel (b-inset): Inset of (B): launch velocity variations ($\mu$m/s) against time (hours) over one day, one point per 100 s Raman spectrum with its statistical error bar, and a moving average over 1000 s segments (red). data.csv

Fig. 3

Illustrative figure, no extractable data. Shown in the paper PDF.

Fig. 4

• panel (a): Acceleration (m/s$^2$) against time (hours) over the 44 h measurement, for the classical, quantum and hybridized sensors. The printed black line at the local gravity value is not drawn, and the quantum trace is quieter at short times than printed. data.csv
• panel (a-inset): Inset of (A): the same three accelerations (m/s$^2$) against time (hours), each minus its mean, on a dual axis: quantum and hybridized on the left, classical on the right. The quantum trace is quieter than printed: its noise band is about half the printed width. data.csv
• panel (b): Rotation rate (rad/s) against time (hours) over the 44 h measurement, for the classical, quantum and hybridized sensors. The printed black line at the projected Earth rotation rate is not drawn. data.csv
• panel (c): Allan deviation of the acceleration (m/s$^2$) against integration time $\tau$ (s) for the classical, quantum and hybridized sensors over the 44 h record. The printed reference lines for the sensitivity limits are not drawn. The quantum curve lies below the printed one at short times, about a third of it at 4 s, and joins it from about 100 s. data.csv
• panel (d): Allan deviation of the rotation rate (rad/s) against integration time $\tau$ (s) for the classical, quantum and hybridized sensors over the 44 h record. The printed reference lines for the sensitivity limits are not drawn. data.csv

Fig. 5

• panel (a): Vibration-corrected phase scans of the atomic fringes: proportion of atoms in $F=2$ ($P_2$) against phase $(\alpha - k_\mathrm{eff}\,a_\mathrm{vib})T^2$ (rad) for $\Omega_d = 0$, 2 and 4 mrad/s, with their sinusoidal fits (lines) and black stars following the fringe shift. data.csv
• panel (a-inset): Inset of (A): contrast of the sinusoidal fringe fits against the rotation rate amplitude $\Omega_d$ (mrad/s), with the three fringes of the main plot in their colours and a decaying exponential fit (black line). data.csv
• panel (b-1): Dynamic rotation rate (mrad/s) measured by the classical (red) and atomic (black) gyroscopes against the normalized loudspeaker motion amplitude, for $v_\mathrm{l} < 0$; each point averages 200 shots. data.csv
• panel (b-2): Dynamic rotation rate (mrad/s) measured by the classical (red) and atomic (black) gyroscopes against the normalized loudspeaker motion amplitude, for $v_\mathrm{l} > 0$; each point averages 200 shots. data.csv
• panel (b-3): Difference between the classical and atomic rotation rates (mrad/s) against the normalized loudspeaker motion amplitude, for $v_\mathrm{l} < 0$, with error bars. data.csv
• panel (b-4): Difference between the classical and atomic rotation rates (mrad/s) against the normalized loudspeaker motion amplitude, for $v_\mathrm{l} > 0$, with error bars. data.csv

Fig. 6

• panel (1): Frequency difference $\Delta\nu$ (kHz) between the two $\pm k_\mathrm{eff}$ transitions against Raman pulse duration ($\mu$s), without (blue) and with (orange) the two-photon light shift correction, and the light shift itself (purple) plotted with an offset. The printed launch velocity scale on the right is not drawn. data.csv

Fig. 7

• panel (a): Atomic interferometer output $\alpha_{\pm k,\pm v}$ in acceleration units (blue) and the convoluted classical accelerometer output $a^{\pm k,\pm v}_\mathrm{conv,at}$ (orange), in m/s$^2$, against time (hours) over the full record. The two printed zoom markers are not drawn. data.csv
• panel (b-1): Zoom of (A) over 16.14 to 16.28 h: atomic (blue) and convoluted classical (orange) accelerations, each minus its mean value (m/s$^2$), against time (hours). data.csv
• panel (b-2): Zoom of (A) over 32.14 to 32.28 h: atomic (blue) and convoluted classical (orange) accelerations, each minus its mean value (m/s$^2$), against time (hours). data.csv

Fig. 8

Illustrative figure, no extractable data. Shown in the paper PDF.

Cite

Clément Salducci, Yannick Bidel, Malo Cadoret, Sarah Darmon, Nassim Zahzam, Alexis Bonnin, Sylvain Schwartz, Cédric Blanchard, Alexandre Bresson. Quantum sensing of acceleration and rotation by interfering magnetically launched atoms. Sci. Adv. 10, eadq4498 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adq4498

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