Hedges, Sam 
ORCID: 0000-0002-9618-8161
(2024).
A strontium atom interferometer for advanced large momentum transfer.
University of Birmingham.
Ph.D.
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Hedges2024PhD.pdf
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Abstract
Optical atomic clock atoms are finding applications in atomic physics beyond frequency standards. A new generation of atom interferometers based on the alkaline-Earth species strontium promises unrivalled sensitivity for fundamental physics searches. In this thesis, a new strontium atom interferometry experiment is developed and demonstrated. Strontium-88 atoms are cooled using a 2D magneto-optical trap followed by a two-stage cooling process. Samples of 8 × 106 atoms are prepared in this way and used to perform Mach-Zehnder configuration atom interferometry sequences on the intercombination transition. A laser system is presented, capable of generating 30 ns pulses in alternating directions at a repetition rate of 30 MHz. The experiment will be used as a test bed to develop techniques for enhancing contrast for large momentum transfer to achieve state-of-the-art sensitivity. Such techniques will feed into the Atom Interferometry Observatory and Network (AION) collaboration and have wider-reaching implications in the field of quantum technology.
| Type of Work: | Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.) | |||||||||
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| Award Type: | Doctorates > Ph.D. | |||||||||
| Supervisor(s): |
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| Licence: | All rights reserved | |||||||||
| College/Faculty: | Colleges > College of Engineering & Physical Sciences | |||||||||
| School or Department: | School of Physics and Astronomy | |||||||||
| Funders: | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council | |||||||||
| Subjects: | Q Science > QC Physics | |||||||||
| URI: | http://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/15167 |
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