Final Report Summary - AISENS (New generation of high sensitive atom interferometers)
The AISENS research project has developed a new atom interferometer where a Bose Einstein condensate, that is the analog of the laser for matter waves, is implemented. Using a double well trapping potential we have been able to split the condensate in two separated spatial modes, like a beam splitter does in an optical Mach-Zehnder interferometer. According to quantum mechanics the wave function of each component oscillates at a frequency that is proportional to the local potential energy. After an holding time of almost one second we can mix the two components and let them interfere to detect the accumulated phase difference. Its knowledge gives direct access to the external force acting on the atoms. The long interrogation time has been allowed by the use of specially gifted potassium atoms that stop to interact with each other at a magic value of an external magnetic field. For this reason, for the first time it has been possible to realize a trapped atom Mach-Zehnder interferometer with quantum particles that do not interact, exactly like photons. The demonstrated sensor is a prototypal device for the high precision measurement of forces with high sensitivity and sub-micron spatial resolution.