Experimental study of the role of trap symmetry in an atom-chip interferometer above the Bose-Einstein condensation threshold

Matthieu Dupont-Nivet (1) , Romain Demur (1) , Christoph I Westbrook (2) , Sylvain Schwartz (3)

1 Thales Research and Technology [Palaiseau]
2 Laboratoire Charles Fabry / Optique atomique
3 LKB (Lhomond) - Laboratoire Kastler Brossel

We report the experimental study of an atom-chip interferometer using ultracold rubidium 87 atoms above the Bose-Einstein condensation threshold. The observed dependence of the contrast decay time with temperature and with the degree of symmetry of the traps during the interferometer sequence is in good agreement with theoretical predictions published in [Dupont-Nivet et al., NJP 18, 113012 (2016)]. These results pave the way for precision measurements with trapped thermal atoms.

Domaines: Gaz Quantiques [cond-mat.quant-gas]; Physique Quantique [quant-ph]; Physique Atomique [physics.atom-ph]

Matthieu Dupont-Nivet, Romain Demur, Christoph I Westbrook, Sylvain Schwartz. Experimental study of the role of trap symmetry in an atom-chip interferometer above the Bose-Einstein condensation threshold. New Journal of Physics, 2018, 20, pp.043051. ⟨10.1088/1367-2630/aabc72⟩. ⟨hal-01696594⟩