NIST - National Institute of Standards and Technology
04/10/2026 | Press release | Archived content
Wavefront mapping for absolute atom interferometry
Published
April 10, 2026
Author(s)
Joseph Junca, John Kitching, William McGehee
Abstract
Wavefront distortions are a leading source of systematic uncertainty in light-pulse atom interferometry, limiting absolute measurements of gravitational acceleration at the 30 nm/s2 level. Here, we demonstrate in situ spatially-resolved measurement of the interferometer phase in a Mach-Zehnder atom interferometer as a tool to characterize and correct wavefront bias. We introduce controllable curvature of the Raman light using an adjustable collimation retro-reflector, and we show that finite-size corrections impact the measured phase curvature as well as the integrated interferometer phase. The parabolic wavefront bias is measured with < 1 mrad of phase uncertainty, and this measurement process could be adopted in optimized atom interferometer gravimeters to reduce wavefront bias uncertainty below the nm/s2 level.
Citation
Physical Review Letters
Pub Type
Journals
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Keywords
atom interferometry, wavefront, optical aberrations
Citation
Junca, J. , Kitching, J. and McGehee, W. (2026), Wavefront mapping for absolute atom interferometry, Physical Review Letters, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=960317 (Accessed April 25, 2026)
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