Spin-squeezing of ⁸⁷Rb via optical measurement

Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics, 2008.Includes bibliographical references (p. 55-57).This project aims to reduce measurement uncertainty in atomic clocks by squeezing the collective spin of atoms. Spin-squeezing reduces noise below the standard quantum limit where precision scales as 1/ [square root of] N, allowing us to instead approach the Heisenberg limit where it scales as 1/N. We report spin-squeezing of the (F = 2, mR = 0) --> (F = 1, mF = 0) hyperfine transition of the 5S1/2 level of ⁸⁷Rb. We also demonstrate a viable setup for the spin-squeezing of the magnetically trappable (F = 2, mF = 1) --> (F = 1, mF = -1) transition, which could potentially be used as a compact frequency standard. This thesis provides a brief theoretical background of spin-squeezing and a summary of the project in its current state.by Adele Ann Schwab.S.B