arXiv subjects

Jan-Niclas Kirsten-Siemß

Publications and source records attributed to Jan-Niclas Kirsten-Siemß.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Squeezing Enhancement in Lossy Multi-Path Atom Interferometers

This paper explores the sensitivity gains afforded by spin-squeezed states in atom interferometry, in particular using Bragg diffraction. We introduce a generalised input-output formalism that accurately describes realistic, non-unitary interferometers, including losses due to velocity selectivity and scattering into undesired momentum states. This formalism is applied to evaluate the performance of one-axis twisted spin-squeezed states in improving phase sensitivity. Our results show that by carefully optimising the parameters of the Bragg beam splitters and controlling the degree of squeezing, it is possible to improve the sensitivity of the interferometer by several dB with respect to the standard quantum limit despite realistic levels of losses in light pulse operations. However, the analysis also highlights the challenges associated with achieving these improvements in practice, most notably the impact of finite temperature on the benefits of entanglement. The results suggest ways of optimising interferometric setups to exploit quantum entanglement under realistic conditions, thereby contributing to advances in precision metrology with atom interferometers.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Diffraction phase-free Bragg atom interferometry

Bragg Diffraction of matter waves is an established technique used in the most accurate quantum sensors. It is also the method of choice to operate large-momentum-transfer, high-sensitivity atom interferometers. It suffers, however, from an intrinsic multi-path character. Optimal control theory (OCT) has recently led to an improved robustness of atom interferometers to a range of challenging environmental effects such as vibrations or platform accelerations. In this theoretical work, we apply OCT protocols to control the Bragg diffraction phase shifts thereby enhancing the metrological accuracy of the interferometer. We show a minimization of the diffraction phase for realistic conditions of finite temperature of the incoming wavepacket in a multi-path, high-order Bragg interferometer in a Mach-Zehnder configuration. We study input states with different momentum widths and find that our approach mitigates diffraction phases below the microradian level in the case of $1\%$ of the photon recoil, thereby eliminating one of the leading systematic effects in atom interferometry.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2025

FFTArray: A Python Library for the Implementation of Discretized Multi-Dimensional Fourier Transforms

Partial differential equations describing the dynamics of physical systems rarely have closed-form solutions. Fourier spectral methods, which use Fast Fourier Transforms (FFTs) to approximate solutions, are a common approach to solving these equations. However, mapping Fourier integrals to discrete FFTs is not straightforward, as the selection of the grid as well as the coordinate-dependent phase and scaling factors require special care. Moreover, most software packages that deal with this step integrate it tightly into their full-stack implementations. Such an integrated design sacrifices generality, making it difficult to adapt to new coordinate systems, boundary conditions, or problem-specific requirements. To address these challenges, we present FFTArray, a Python library that automates the general discretization of Fourier transforms. Its purpose is to reduce the barriers to developing high-performance, maintainable code for pseudo-spectral Fourier methods. Its interface enables the direct translation of textbook equations and complex research problems into code, and its modular design scales naturally to multiple dimensions. This makes the definition of valid coordinate grids straightforward, while coordinate grid specific corrections are applied with minimal impact on computational performance. Built on the Python Array API Standard, FFTArray integrates seamlessly with array backends like NumPy, JAX and PyTorch and supports Graphics Processing Unit acceleration. The code is openly available at https://github.com/QSTheory/fftarray under Apache-2.0 license.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2024

Principal Component Analysis for Spatial Phase Reconstruction in Atom Interferometry

Atom interferometers are sensitive to a wide range of forces by encoding their signals in interference patterns of matter waves. To estimate the magnitude of these forces, the underlying phase shifts they imprint on the atoms must be extracted. Up until now, extraction algorithms typically rely on a fixed model of the patterns' spatial structure, which if inaccurate can lead to systematic errors caused by, for example, wavefront aberrations of the used lasers. In this paper we employ an algorithm based on Principal Component Analysis, which is capable of characterizing the spatial phase structure and per image phase offsets of an atom interferometer from a set of images. The algorithm does so without any prior knowledge about the specific spatial pattern as long as this pattern is the same for all images in the set. On simulated images with atom projection noise we show the algorithm's reconstruction performance follows distinct scaling laws, i.e., it is inversely-proportional to the square-root of the number atoms or the number of images respectively, which allows a projection of its performance for experiments. We also successfully extract the spatial phase patterns of two experimental data sets from an atom gravimeter. This algorithm is a first step towards a better understanding and complex spatial phase patterns, e.g., caused by inhomogeneous laser fields in atom interferometry.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2024

Atom interferometers in weakly curved spacetimes using Bragg diffraction and Bloch oscillations

We present a systematic approach to determine all relativistic phases up to $\mathcal{O}(c^{-2})$ in light-pulse atom interferometers in weakly curved spacetime that are based on elastic scattering, namely Bragg diffraction and Bloch oscillations. Our analysis is derived from first principles using the parameterized post-Newtonian formalism. In the treatment developed here, we derive algebraic expressions for relativistic phases for arbitrary interferometer geometries in an automated manner. As case studies, we consider symmetric and antisymmetric Ramsey-Bordé interferometers, as well as a symmetric double diffraction interferometer with baseline lengths of 10 m and 100 m. We compare our results to previous calculations conducted for a Mach-Zehnder interferometer.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

Accurate and efficient Bloch-oscillation-enhanced atom interferometry

Bloch oscillations of atoms in optical lattices are a powerful technique that can boost the sensitivity of atom interferometers to a wide range of signals by large momentum transfer. To leverage this method to its full potential, an accurate theoretical description of losses and phases is needed going beyond existing treatments. Here, we present a comprehensive theoretical framework for Bloch-oscillation-enhanced atom interferometry and verify its accuracy through comparison with an exact numerical solution of the Schrödinger equation. Our approach establishes design criteria to reach the fundamental efficiency and accuracy limits of large momentum transfer using Bloch oscillations. We compare these limits to the case of current state-of-the-art experiments and make projections for the next generation of quantum sensors.

quant-ph↗