Prospects for the Development of a Sensitive Atomic Interferometer Based on Cold Rubidium Atoms
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GENERAL PROBLEMS OF METROLOGY AND MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUE PROSPECTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SENSITIVE ATOMIC INTERFEROMETER BASED ON COLD RUBIDIUM ATOMS
M. S. Aleynikov, V. N. Baryshev, I. Yu. Blinov, D. S. Kupalov, and G. V. Osipenko
UDC 539.184.5
An overview of the research results obtained at the All-Russia Research Institute of Physicotechnical and Radio Measurements when creating a fountain type clock is presented. The possibility of using the results obtained for the development of a sensitive atomic interferometer (gravimeter) based on cold rubidium atoms is analyzed. The relevance of the study lies in assessing the prospects for creating an interferometer (gravimeter) based on cold rubidium atoms for absolute measurements of the local value of the gravitational acceleration. The physical principles of operation of an atomic gravimeter are described. A comparison is made between an atomic gravimeter and a fountain-type frequency standard based on cold atoms. The technical solutions required for the creation of an atomic gravimeter with given values of the sensitivity for measuring the acceleration of gravity are proposed. To achieve a gravimeter sensitivity of the order of 1 μGal/Hz1/2, the phase noise of laser radiation, the pressure of residual gases in the vacuum system, and the parameters of the magnetic shield system are estimated. Keywords: atomic interferometry, atomic gravimeter, fountain type frequency standard.
Introduction. The free fall acceleration g is a key parameter of gravity and in general depends on time and coordinates. Ground gravity measurements have been carried out for more than two hundred years using various techniques [1]. Accurate measurement of the parameter g is of interest in a wide area of applications of geophysics and gravity research [2–5], fundamental research [6], the study of natural resources [7] and other scientific fields [8]. In connection with the active development of atomic interferometry, its principles are used to create inertial sensors of a new generation, which today can compete with the most accurate classical instruments of this kind. The number of applications of such sensors is growing rapidly: from measurements of g, the gravitational constant G, and parameters of the Earth’s rotation to the development of portable compact devices – atomic gravimeters and gradiometers. Over the past two decades, atomic interferometry of material waves has led to the development of a technique for measuring inertial forces, which is used both in fundamental physics and in applied research. With the advent and development at VNIIFTRI of laser fountain technologies for cooling and controlling the motion of atoms, the creation of atomic interference gravimeters with accuracy characteristics comparable to those of classical optical gravimeters on a freely falling corner reflector, it has become a solvable and feasible task. At present, atomic gravimeters are superior to the classical measurements of the acceleration of free fall in short-term stability [9, 10]. The absence
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