A Study of Matter-Wave Diffraction in Bose-Einstein Condensates for Atom Interferometry Applications

Atom interferometers detect inertial effects with considerably larger sensitivity than that of traditional light wave interferometers. They uti- lize the relative small group velocity of coherent matter waves for more precise measurements, which is crucial for possible next-generation in- ertial navigation systems. In a hybrid optical dipole and magnetic trap system we generate Bose-Einstein condensates to be used as the source of matter waves for atom interferometry. We use tailored light pulse sequences to induce Kapitza-Dirac diffraction in the condensates, splitting them into multiple parts at discrete momentum orders. Nu- merical simulation and experimental realization is given for novel pulse sequences that splits ±4hk momentum orders