Collisional Decoherence in Trapped-Atom Interferometers that use Nondegenerate Sources

Abstract

The coherence time, and thus sensitivity, of trapped atom interferometers that use non-degenerate gases are limited by the collisions between the atoms. An analytic model that describes the effects of collisions between atoms in an interferometer is developed. It is then applied to an interferometer using a harmonically trapped non-degenerate atomic gas that is manipulated with a single set of standing wave laser pulses. The model is used to find the optimal operating conditions of the interferometer and direct Monte-Carlo simulation of the interferometer is used to verify the analytic model.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 22, 2009
Accession Number
ADA494087

Entities

People

  • James Scoville
  • James Stickney
  • Matthew B Squires
  • Paul Baker
  • Steven D. Miller

Organizations

  • Air Force Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force Research Laboratories
  • Collisions
  • Equations
  • Frequency
  • Interferometers
  • Laser Beams
  • Laser Pulses
  • Light Pulses
  • Monte Carlo Method
  • Optical Lattices
  • Phase Shift
  • Phase Transformations
  • Sensitivity
  • Simulations
  • Standing Waves
  • Transition Temperature
  • Waves

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Plasma Physics / Magnetohydrodynamics
  • Quantum spin resonance or Electron Paramagnetic Resonance spectroscopy.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy