229 research outputs found
Optically trapped atom interferometry using the clock transition of large Rb-87 Bose-Einstein condensates
We present a Ramsey-type atom interferometer operating with an optically
trapped sample of 10^6 Bose-condensed Rb-87 atoms. The optical trap allows us
to couple the |F =1, mF =0>\rightarrow |F =2, mF =0> clock states using a
single photon 6.8GHz microwave transition, while state selective readout is
achieved with absorption imaging. Interference fringes with contrast
approaching 100% are observed for short evolution times. We analyse the process
of absorption imaging and show that it is possible to observe atom number
variance directly, with a signal-to-noise ratio ten times better than the
atomic projection noise limit on 10^6 condensate atoms. We discuss the
technical and fundamental noise sources that limit our current system, and
outline the improvements that can be made. Our results indicate that, with
further experimental refinements, it will be possible to produce and measure
the output of a sub-shot-noise limited, large atom number BEC-based
interferometer.
In an addendum to the original paper, we attribute our inability to observe
quantum projection noise to the stability of our microwave oscillator and
background magnetic field. Numerical simulations of the Gross-Pitaevskii
equations for our system show that dephasing due to spatial dynamics driven by
interparticle interactions account for much of the observed decay in fringe
visibility at long interrogation times. The simulations show good agreement
with the experimental data when additional technical decoherence is accounted
for, and suggest that the clock states are indeed immiscible. With smaller
samples of 5 \times 10^4 atoms, we observe a coherence time of {\tau} =
(1.0+0.5-0.3) s.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figures Addendum: 11 pages, 6 figure
Cold atom gravimetry with a Bose-Einstein Condensate
We present a cold atom gravimeter operating with a sample of Bose-condensed
Rubidium-87 atoms. Using a Mach-Zehnder configuration with the two arms
separated by a two-photon Bragg transition, we observe interference fringes
with a visibility of 83% at T=3 ms. We exploit large momentum transfer (LMT)
beam splitting to increase the enclosed space-time area of the interferometer
using higher-order Bragg transitions and Bloch oscillations. We also compare
fringes from condensed and thermal sources, and observe a reduced visibility of
58% for the thermal source. We suspect the loss in visibility is caused partly
by wavefront aberrations, to which the thermal source is more susceptible due
to its larger transverse momentum spread. Finally, we discuss briefly the
potential advantages of using a coherent atomic source for LMT, and present a
simple mean-field model to demonstrate that with currently available
experimental parameters, interaction-induced dephasing will not limit the
sensitivity of inertial measurements using freely-falling, coherent atomic
sources.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Final version, published PR
Optically guided linear Mach Zehnder atom interferometer
We demonstrate a horizontal, linearly guided Mach Zehnder atom interferometer
in an optical waveguide. Intended as a proof-of-principle experiment, the
interferometer utilises a Bose-Einstein condensate in the magnetically
insensitive |F=1,mF=0> state of Rubidium-87 as an acceleration sensitive test
mass. We achieve a modest sensitivity to acceleration of da = 7x10^-4 m/s^2.
Our fringe visibility is as high as 38% in this optically guided atom
interferometer. We observe a time-of-flight in the waveguide of over half a
second, demonstrating the utility of our optical guide for future sensors.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Relativistic Quantum Mechanics and Relativistic Entanglement in the Rest-Frame Instant Form of Dynamics
A new formulation of relativistic quantum mechanics is proposed in the
framework of the rest-frame instant form of dynamics with its instantaneous
Wigner 3-spaces and with its description of the particle world-lines by means
of derived non-canonical predictive coordinates. In it we quantize the frozen
Jacobi data of the non-local 4-center of mass and the Wigner-covariant relative
variables in an abstract (frame-independent) internal space whose existence is
implied by Wigner-covariance. The formalism takes care of the properties of
both relativistic bound states and scattering ones. There is a natural solution
to the \textit{relativistic localization problem}. The non-relativistic limit
leads to standard quantum mechanics but with a frozen Hamilton-Jacobi
description of the center of mass. Due to the \textit{non-locality} of the
Poincar\'e generators the resulting theory of relativistic entanglement is both
\textit{kinematically non-local and spatially non-separable}: these properties,
absent in the non-relativistic limit, throw a different light on the
interpretation of the non-relativistic quantum non-locality and of its impact
on foundational problems.Comment: 73 pages, includes revision
Scaled penalization of Brownian motion with drift and the Brownian ascent
We study a scaled version of a two-parameter Brownian penalization model
introduced by Roynette-Vallois-Yor in arXiv:math/0511102. The original model
penalizes Brownian motion with drift by the weight process
where and
is the running maximum of the Brownian motion. It was
shown there that the resulting penalized process exhibits three distinct phases
corresponding to different regions of the -plane. In this paper, we
investigate the effect of penalizing the Brownian motion concurrently with
scaling and identify the limit process. This extends a result of Roynette-Yor
for the case to the whole parameter plane and reveals two
additional "critical" phases occurring at the boundaries between the parameter
regions. One of these novel phases is Brownian motion conditioned to end at its
maximum, a process we call the Brownian ascent. We then relate the Brownian
ascent to some well-known Brownian path fragments and to a random scaling
transformation of Brownian motion recently studied by Rosenbaum-Yor.Comment: 32 pages; made additions to Section
An Atlas of human kinase regulation
The coordinated regulation of protein kinases is a rapid mechanism that integrates diverse cues and swiftly determines appropriate cellular responses. However, our understanding of cellular decision-making has been limited by the small number of simultaneously monitored phospho- regulatory events. Here, we have estimated changes in activity in 215 human kinases in 399 condi- tions from a compilation of nearly 3 million phosphopeptide quantifications. This atlas identifies commonly regulated kinases as those that are central in the signaling network and defines the logic relationships between kinase pairs. Co-regulation along the conditions predicts kinase-complex and kinase-substrate associations. Additionally, the kinase regulation profile acts as a molecular fingerprint to identify related and opposing signaling states. Using this atlas, we identified essen- tial mediators of stem cell differentiation, modulators of Salmonella infection and new targets of AKT1. This provides a global view of human phosphorylation-based signaling and the necessary context to better understand kinase driven decision-making
Precision atomic gravimeter based on Bragg diffraction
We present a precision gravimeter based on coherent Bragg diffraction of
freely falling cold atoms. Traditionally, atomic gravimeters have used
stimulated Raman transitions to separate clouds in momentum space by driving
transitions between two internal atomic states. Bragg interferometers utilize
only a single internal state, and can therefore be less susceptible to
environmental perturbations. Here we show that atoms extracted from a
magneto-optical trap using an accelerating optical lattice are a suitable
source for a Bragg atom interferometer, allowing efficient beamsplitting and
subsequent separation of momentum states for detection. Despite the inherently
multi-state nature of atom diffraction, we are able to build a Mach-Zehnder
interferometer using Bragg scattering which achieves a sensitivity to the
gravitational acceleration of with an
integration time of 1000s. The device can also be converted to a gravity
gradiometer by a simple modification of the light pulse sequence.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figure
Experimental comparison of Raman and RF outcouplers for high flux atom lasers
We study the properties of an atom laser beam derived from a Bose-Einstein
condensate using three different outcouplers, one based on multi-state radio
frequency transitions and two others based on Raman transitions capable of
imparting momentum to the beam. We first summarize the differences that arise
in such systems, and how they may impact on the use of an atom laser in
interferometry. Experimentally, we examine the formation of a bound state in
all three outcouplers, a phenomenon which limits the atom laser flux, and find
that a two-state Raman outcoupler is the preferred option for high flux, low
divergence atom laser beams.Comment: 8 Pages, 5 Figures, Submitted to PR
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