Atom Michelson Interferometer on a Chip Using a Bose-Einstein Condensate

TLDR

An atom Michelson interferometer on an atom chip uses lithographically patterned conductors and magnetic fields to guide a Bose‑Einstein condensate, with splitting, reflecting, and recombining performed by a standing‑wave light field along the waveguide, and a differential phase shift introduced by a magnetic‑field gradient or initial condensate velocity. Interference contrast of 20 % is still observable after a 10 ms atom propagation time.

Abstract

An atom Michelson interferometer is implemented on an ``atom chip.'' The chip uses lithographically patterned conductors and external magnetic fields to produce and guide a Bose-Einstein condensate. Splitting, reflecting, and recombining of condensate atoms are achieved by a standing-wave light field having a wave vector aligned along the atom waveguide. A differential phase shift between the two arms of the interferometer is introduced by either a magnetic-field gradient or with an initial condensate velocity. Interference contrast is still observable at 20% with an atom propagation time of 10 ms.