Opto-mechanical resonator-enhanced atom interferometry

Abstract

We combine an optical-mechanical resonator with an atom interferometer. A classical cantilever and matter waves sense their acceleration with respect to a joint reference. Apart from research on macroscopic quantum objects, applications are in the realm of quantum sensing. We demonstrate its robustness by operating an atom-interferometric gravimeter beyond its reciprocal response in a highly dynamic environment, exploiting the common mode signal. As a proof of concept, we have demonstrated post correction using the OMIS by instigating single frequency strong motion for a T=10 ms interferometer. An improvement factor of 16 was achieved yielding 5x10^(-4)ms^(-2)/rtHz in the short term stability of gravitational acceleration measurements with our atom interferometer. We discuss the potential of an advanced OMIS set-up for field gravimeters.