Abstract
We describe a Sagnac interferometer suitable for rotation sensing, implemented using an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate confined in a harmonic magnetic trap. The atom wave packets are split and recombined by standing-wave Bragg lasers, and the trapping potential steers the packets along circular trajectories with a radius of 0.2 mm. Two conjugate interferometers are implemented simultaneously to provide common-mode rejection of noise and to isolate the rotation signal. With interference visibilities of about 50%, we achieve a rotation sensitivity comparable to Earth’s rate in about 10 min of operation. Gyroscope operation was demonstrated by rotating the optical table on which the experiment was performed.
- Received 18 October 2019
- Revised 7 January 2020
- Accepted 9 March 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.120403
© 2020 American Physical Society