A measurement of the atomic recoil frequency using a ground state atom interferometer

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• Scott Beattie (York University)
• Monday 01 June 2009, 15:30-17:00
• HEP Seminar Room (980) Rutherford Building, Cavendish Laboratory.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact pjh65.

We have developed a technique for measuring the atomic recoil frequency using a single-state atom interferometer that utilizes a dilute cloud of laser-cooled rubidium atoms. An important motivation for these measurements is that the atomic recoil frequency can be used to infer the atomic fine structure constant. The technique presented here involves time domain measurements carried out with standing-wave laser fields that manipulate atoms in the same atomic ground state to interfere momentum states. The resulting signal shape can be modeled using coherence functions and provides a robust approach for measuring the recoil frequency precisely. We report measurements of atomic recoil that are precise to _{1 part per million. Recent improvements to the time scale as well as prospects of a} 10 part per billion measurement in the near future will also be presented.

This talk is part of the AMOP list series.

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