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arXiv · 0801.1270

Limits to the sensitivity of a low noise compact atomic gravimeter

J. Le Gouët·Tanja Mehlstäubler·Jaewan Kim·Sébastien Merlet·Andre Clairon·Arnaud Landragin·Franck Pereira Dos Santos
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Abstract

A detailed analysis of the most relevant sources of phase noise in an atomic interferometer is carried out, both theoretically and experimentally. Even a short interrogation time of 100 ms allows our cold atom gravimeter to reach an excellent short term sensitivity to acceleration of $1.4\times 10^{-8}$g at 1s. This result relies on the combination of a low phase noise laser system, efficient detection scheme and good shielding from vibrations. In particular, we describe a simple and robust technique of vibration compensation, which is based on correcting the interferometer signal by using the AC acceleration signal measured by a low noise seismometer.

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J. Le Gouët, Tanja Mehlstäubler, Jaewan Kim, Sébastien Merlet, Andre Clairon, Arnaud Landragin, Franck Pereira Dos Santos. 2008-01-08. Limits to the sensitivity of a low noise compact atomic gravimeter. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-008-3088-1

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