A cold atom pyramidal gravimeter with a single laser beam

Quentin Bodart (1) , Sébastien Merlet (1) , Nicola Malossi (1) , Franck Pereira dos Santos (1) , Philippe Bouyer (2) , Arnaud Landragin (1)

1 SYRTE - Systèmes de Référence Temps Espace
2 laboratoire Charles Fabry de l'Institut d'Optique / Optique atomique

We demonstrate a scheme for realizing a compact cold atom gravimeter. The use of a hollow pyramidal configuration allows to achieve all functions: trapping, interferometer and detection with a unique laser beam leading to a drastic reduction in complexity and volume. In particular, we demonstrate a relative sensitivity to acceleration of gravity (g) of 1.7 × 10-7 at one second, with a moderate laser power of 50 mW. This simple geometry combined to such a high sensitivity opens wide perspectives for practical applications (P. Bouyer and A. Landragin, patent n° FR2009/000252, 2009).

Mots clés: atom interferometer; cold atoms; gravimeter; pyramidal trap

Domaines: Physique Atomique [physics.atom-ph]

Quentin Bodart, Sébastien Merlet, Nicola Malossi, Franck Pereira dos Santos, Philippe Bouyer, et al.. A cold atom pyramidal gravimeter with a single laser beam. Applied Physics Letters, 2010, 96 (13), pp.134101. ⟨10.1063/1.3373917⟩. ⟨hal-00462216⟩