Rotation sensing with a dual atom-interferometer Sagnac gyroscope

TLDR

Potential applications include inertial navigation, geophysical studies, and tests of general relativity. The study reports improvements to a Sagnac effect matter‑wave interferometer gyroscope. Stimulated Raman transitions coherently manipulate atoms from counter‑propagating thermal beams to form two interferometers with opposite rotation phase shifts, enabling rotation to be distinguished from acceleration and laser phase, while electronic compensation of rotation‑induced Doppler shifts of the Raman lasers allows operation at an effective zero rotation rate, improving sensitivity and enabling sensitive lock‑in detection readout. The device achieves a short‑term rotation‑rate sensitivity of 6×10⁻¹⁰ rad s⁻¹ over 1 s of integration—the best publicly reported value to date—while long‑term stability is promising but not yet fully characterized.

Abstract

We reports improvements to our Sagnac effect matter-wave interferometer gyroscope. This device now has a short-term rotation-rate sensitivity of 6×10-10 rad s-1 over 1 s of integration, which is the best publicly reported value to date. Stimulated Raman transitions are used to coherently manipulate atoms from counterpropagating thermal beams, forming two interferometers with opposite rotation phase shifts, allowing rotation to be distinguished from acceleration and laser arbitrary phase. Furthermore, electronically compensating the rotation-induced Doppler shifts of the Raman lasers allows operation at an effective zero rotation rate, improving sensitivity and facilitating sensitive lock-in detection readout techniques. Long-term stability is promising but not yet fully characterized. Potential applications include inertial navigation, geophysical studies and tests of general relativity.