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arXiv · 2610.10082

A scanning cavity for large area coherent coupling in atom interferometry

D. O. Sabulsky·Q. Beaufils·A. Bertoldi·A. Landragin·P. Bouyer·B. Canuel
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Abstract

Optical cavities can enhance atom-light coupling in atom interferometry, but free-fall geometries require large transverse modes. Marginally stable resonators provide such modes, yet aberrations and alignment imperfections turn their near-degenerate response into detuning-dependent transverse ring modes, strongly limiting the usable interaction volume under static excitation. Here, we turn this limitation into a resource. By chirping the interrogation frequency across the cavity resonance while dynamically shaping the input amplitude, we map laser detuning onto the transverse position and scan the cavity-enhanced coupling across the atomic cloud. In a cavity-enhanced Bragg diffraction experiment with $^{87}$Rb atoms, this produces a nearly uniform effective interaction region of about 15 mm and increases the transfer efficiency from about 5% to 28%. We also demonstrate phase-coherent operation of a three-pulse atom interferometer using chirped cavity-enhanced Bragg pulses. These results establish scanning-cavity interrogation as a route to large-area, cavity-enhanced atom interferometry.

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D. O. Sabulsky, Q. Beaufils, A. Bertoldi, A. Landragin, P. Bouyer, B. Canuel. 2026-10-07. A scanning cavity for large area coherent coupling in atom interferometry. https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10082

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