245 research outputs found
Developing fiber lasers with Bragg reflectors as deep sea hydrophones
The present paper will discuss the work in progress at the Department of Physics of the University of Pisa in collaboration
with the IFAC laboratory of CNR in Florence to develop pressure sensors with outstanding sensitivity
in the acoustic and ultrasonic ranges. These devices are based on optically-pumped fiber lasers, where the
mirrors are Bragg gratings written into the fiber core
Delocalization-enhanced Bloch oscillations and driven resonant tunneling in optical lattices for precision force measurements
In this paper we describe and compare different methods used for accurate
determination of forces acting on matter-wave packets in optical lattices. The
quantum interference nature responsible for the production of both Bloch
oscillations and coherent delocalization is investigated in detail. We study
conditions for optimal detection of Bloch oscillation for a thermal ensemble of
cold atoms with a large velocity spread. We report on the experimental
observation of resonant tunneling in an amplitude-modulated (AM) optical
lattice up to the sixth harmonic with Fourier-limited linewidth. We then
explore the fundamental and technical phenomena which limit both the
sensitivity and the final accuracy of the atomic force sensor at 10^{-7}
precision level [1], with an analysis of the coherence time of the system and
addressing few simple setup changes to go beyond the current accuracy.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figure
A laser gyroscope system to detect the Gravito-Magnetic effect on Earth
Large scale square ring laser gyros with a length of four meters on each side
are approaching a sensitivity of 1x10^-11 rad/s/sqrt(Hz). This is about the
regime required to measure the gravitomagnetic effect (Lense Thirring) of the
Earth. For an ensemble of linearly independent gyros each measurement signal
depends upon the orientation of each single axis gyro with respect to the
rotational axis of the Earth. Therefore at least 3 gyros are necessary to
reconstruct the complete angular orientation of the apparatus. In general, the
setup consists of several laser gyroscopes (we would prefer more than 3 for
sufficient redundancy), rigidly referenced to each other. Adding more gyros for
one plane of observation provides a cross-check against intra-system biases and
furthermore has the advantage of improving the signal to noise ratio by the
square root of the number of gyros. In this paper we analyze a system of two
pairs of identical gyros (twins) with a slightly different orientation with
respect to the Earth axis. The twin gyro configuration has several interesting
properties. The relative angle can be controlled and provides a useful null
measurement. A quadruple twin system could reach a 1% sensitivity after 3:2
years of data, provided each square ring has 6 m length on a side, the system
is shot noise limited and there is no source for 1/f- noise.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures. 2010 Honourable mention of the Gravity Research
Foundation; to be published on J. Mod. Phys.
Theory of dark resonances for alkali vapors in a buffer-gas cell
We develop an analytical theory of dark resonances that accounts for the full
atomic-level structure, as well as all field-induced effects such as coherence
preparation, optical pumping, ac Stark shifts, and power broadening. The
analysis uses a model based on relaxation constants that assumes the total
collisional depolarization of the excited state. A good qualitative agreement
with experiments for Cs in Ne is obtained.Comment: 16 pages; 7 figures; revtex4. Accepted for publication in PR
Horizontal rotation signals detected by "G-Pisa" ring laser for the Mw=9.0, March 2011, Japan earthquake
We report the observation of the ground rotation induced by the Mw=9.0, 11th
of March 2011, Japan earthquake. The rotation measurements have been conducted
with a ring laser gyroscope operating in a vertical plane, thus detecting
rotations around the horizontal axis. Comparison of ground rotations with
vertical accelerations from a co-located force-balance accelerometer shows
excellent ring laser coupling at periods longer than 100s. Under the plane wave
assumption, we derive a theoretical relationship between horizontal rotation
and vertical acceleration for Rayleigh waves. Due to the oblique mounting of
the gyroscope with respect to the wave direction-of-arrival, apparent
velocities derived from the acceleration / rotation rate ratio are expected to
be always larger than, or equal to the true wave propagation velocity. This
hypothesis is confirmed through comparison with fundamental-mode, Rayleigh wave
phase velocities predicted for a standard Earth model.Comment: Accepted for publication in Journal of Seismolog
The GINGER Project and status of the ring-laser of LNGS
A ring-laser attached to the Earth measures the absolute angular velocity of the Earth summed
to the relativistic precessions, de Sitter and Lense-Thirring. GINGER (Gyroscopes IN GEneral
Relativity) is a project aiming at measuring the LenseThirring effect with a ground based detector;
it is based on an array of ring-lasers. Comparing the Earth angular velocity measured
by IERS and the measurement done with the GINGER array, the Lense-Thirring effect can be
evaluated. Compared to the existing space experiments, GINGER provides a local measurement,
not the averaged value and it is unnecessary to model the gravitational field. It is a proposal,
but it is not far from being a reality. In fact the GrossRing G of the Geodesy Observatory of
Wettzell has a sensitivity very close to the necessary one. G ofWettzell is part of the IERS system
which provides the measure of the Length Of the DAY (LOD); G provides information on the fast
component of LOD. In the last few years, a roadmap toward GINGER has been outlined. The
experiment G-GranSasso, financed by the INFN Commission II, is developing instrumentations
and tests along the roadmap of GINGER. In this short paper the main activities of G-GranSasso
and some results will be presented. The first results of GINGERino will be reported, GINGERino
is the large ring-laser installed inside LNGS and now in the commissioning phase. Ring-lasers
provide as well important informations for geophysics, in particular the rotational seismology,
which is an emerging field of science. GINGERino is one of the three experiments of common
interest between INFN and INGV
Two-Photon Doppler cooling of alkaline-earth-metal and ytterbium atoms
A new possibility of laser cooling of alkaline-earth-metal and Ytterbium
atoms using a two-photon transition is analyzed. We consider a -
transition, with excitation in near resonance with the
level. This greatly increases the two-photon transition rate, allowing an
effective transfer of momentum. The experimental implementation of this
technique is discussed and we show that for Calcium, for example, two-photon
cooling can be used to achieve a Doppler limit of 123 microKelvin. The
efficiency of this cooling scheme and the main loss mechanisms are analyzed.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure
Fiber laser strain sensor device
We present a fiber laser strain sensor (FLSS) with noise-equivalent sensitivity equal to or better than 80?p?rms?(Hz)?1/2 at very low frequencies, from 100?mHz to several hundreds of hertz. The strain affects the fiber laser emission wavelength, and an imbalanced Mach?Zender interferometer (MZI) converts wavelength variations into phase-amplitude variations. The sensor has been also tested in the time domain by applying sinusoidal strain bursts: the device also shows a good signal-to-noise ratio at the lowest burst frequencies
Measuring Gravito-magnetic Effects by Multi Ring-Laser Gyroscope
We propose an under-ground experiment to detect the general relativistic
effects due to the curvature of space-time around the Earth (de Sitter effect)
and to rotation of the planet (dragging of the inertial frames or
Lense-Thirring effect). It is based on the comparison between the IERS value of
the Earth rotation vector and corresponding measurements obtained by a
tri-axial laser detector of rotation. The proposed detector consists of six
large ring-lasers arranged along three orthogonal axes.
In about two years of data taking, the 1% sensitivity required for the
measurement of the Lense-Thirring drag can be reached with square rings of 6
side, assuming a shot noise limited sensitivity ().
The multi-gyros system, composed of rings whose planes are perpendicular to one
or the other of three orthogonal axes, can be built in several ways. Here, we
consider cubic and octahedron structures. The symmetries of the proposed
configurations provide mathematical relations that can be used to study the
stability of the scale factors, the relative orientations or the ring-laser
planes, very important to get rid of systematics in long-term measurements,
which are required in order to determine the relativistic effects.Comment: 24 pages, 26 Postscript figure
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