101 research outputs found
The Role of Source Coherence in Atom Interferometery
The role of source cloud spatial coherence in a Mach-Zehnder type atom
interferometer is experimentally investigated. The visibility and contrast of a
Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) and three thermal sources with varying spatial
coherence are compared as a function of interferometer time. At short times,
the fringe visibility of a BEC source approaches 100 % nearly independent of pi
pulse efficiency, while thermal sources have fringe visibilities limited to the
mirror efficiency. More importantly for precision measurement systems, the BEC
source maintains interference at interferometer times significantly beyond the
thermal source
80hk Momentum Separation with Bloch Oscillations in an Optically Guided Atom Interferometer
We demonstrate phase sensitivity in a horizontally guided,
acceleration-sensitive atom interferometer with a momentum separation of 80hk
between its arms. A fringe visibility of 7% is observed. Our coherent pulse
sequence accelerates the cold cloud in an optical waveguide, an inherently
scalable route to large momentum separation and high sensitivity. We maintain
coherence at high momentum separation due to both the transverse confinement
provided by the guide, and our use of optical delta-kick cooling on our
cold-atom cloud. We also construct a horizontal interferometric gradiometer to
measure the longitudinal curvature of our optical waveguide.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
A Bright Solitonic Matter-Wave Interferometer
We present the first realisation of a solitonic atom interferometer. A
Bose-Einstein condensate of atoms of rubidium-85 is loaded into a
horizontal optical waveguide. Through the use of a Feshbach resonance, the
-wave scattering length of the Rb atoms is tuned to a small negative
value. This attractive atomic interaction then balances the inherent
matter-wave dispersion, creating a bright solitonic matter wave. A Mach-Zehnder
interferometer is constructed by driving Bragg transitions with the use of an
optical lattice co-linear with the waveguide. Matter wave propagation and
interferometric fringe visibility are compared across a range of -wave
scattering values including repulsive, attractive and non-interacting values.
The solitonic matter wave is found to significantly increase fringe visibility
even compared with a non-interacting cloud.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Why momentum width matters for atom interferometry with Bragg pulses
We theoretically consider the effect of the atomic source's momentum width on
the efficiency of Bragg mirrors and beamsplitters and, more generally, on the
phase sensitivity of Bragg pulse atom interferometers. By numerical
optimization, we show that an atomic cloud's momentum width places a
fundamental upper bound on the maximum transfer efficiency of a Bragg mirror
pulse, and furthermore limits the phase sensitivity of a Bragg pulse atom
interferometer. We quantify these momentum width effects, and precisely compute
how mirror efficiencies and interferometer phase sensitivities vary as
functions of Bragg order and source type. Our results and methodology allow for
an efficient optimization of Bragg pulses and the comparison of different
atomic sources, and will help in the design of large momentum transfer Bragg
mirrors and beamsplitters for use in atom-based inertial sensors.Comment: 25 pages, 11 figure
Non-destructive shadowgraph imaging of ultracold atoms
An imaging system is presented that is capable of far-detuned non-destructive
imaging of a Bose-Einstein condensate with the signal proportional to the
second spatial derivative of the density. Whilst demonstrated with application
to , the technique generalizes to other atomic species and is
shown to be capable of a signal to noise of at GHz detuning with
in-trap images showing no observable heating or atom loss. The technique
is also applied to the observation of individual trajectories of stochastic
dynamics inaccessible to single shot imaging. Coupled with a fast optical phase
lock loop, the system is capable of dynamically switching to resonant
absorption imaging during the experiment.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
A quantum sensor: simultaneous precision gravimetry and magnetic gradiometry with a Bose-Einstein condensate
A Bose-Einstein condensate is used as an atomic source for a high precision
sensor. A atom F=1 spinor condensate of Rb is released
into free fall for up to ms and probed with a Mach-Zehnder atom
interferometer based on Bragg transitions. The Bragg interferometer
simultaneously addresses the three magnetic states, , facilitating a simultaneous measurement of the acceleration due
to gravity with an asymptotic precision of g/g and
the magnetic field gradient to a precision pT/m
Modulational instability of spinor condensates
We demonstrate, analytically and numerically, that the ferromagnetic phase of
the spinor Bose-Einstein condenstate may experience modulational instability of
the ground state leading to a fragmentation of the spin domains. Together with
other nonlinear effects in the atomic optics of ultra-cold gases (such as
coherent photoassociation and four-wave mixing) this effect provides one more
analogy between coherent matter waves and light waves in nonlinear optics.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for Phys. Rev. A Rapid Communication
Cross-cultural effects of color, but not morphological masculinity, on perceived attractiveness of men's faces
This is the post-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2012 ElsevierMuch attractiveness research has focused on face shape. The role of masculinity (which for adults is thought to be a relatively stable shape cue to developmental testosterone levels) in male facial attractiveness has been examined, with mixed results. Recent work on the perception of skin color (a more variable cue to current health status) indicates that increased skin redness, yellowness, and lightness enhance apparent health. It has been suggested that stable cues such as masculinity may be less important to attractiveness judgments than short-term, more variable health cues. We examined associations between male facial attractiveness, masculinity, and skin color in African and Caucasian populations. Masculinity was not found to be associated with attractiveness in either ethnic group. However, skin color was found to be an important predictor of attractiveness judgments, particularly for own-ethnicity faces. Our results suggest that more plastic health cues, such as skin color, are more important than developmental cues such as masculinity. Further, unfamiliarity with natural skin color variation in other ethnic groups may limit observers' ability to utilize these color cues
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