Rotation Sensing with an Atom Interferometer

Alan Lenef; Troy D. Hammond; Edward T. Smith; Michael S. Chapman; Richard A. Rubenstein; David E. Pritchard

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.78.760

Rotation Sensing with an Atom Interferometer

Alan Lenef, Troy D. Hammond, Edward T. Smith, Michael S. Chapman, Richard A. Rubenstein, and David E. Pritchard

Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 760 – Published 3 February 1997

Abstract

We have measured the phase shift induced by rotation of an atom interferometer at rates of $- 2$ to $+ 2$ earth rates and obtained $1 %$ agreement with the predicted Sagnac phase shift for atomic matter waves. The rotational rms noise of our interferometer was $42$ milliearth rates for $1$ sec of integration time, within $9 %$ of shot noise. The high sensitivity and agreement of predicted and measured behavior suggest useful future scientific applications of atom interferometers as inertial sensors.