Precision Metrology Using Coherent Transient Effects and Cold Atom Interferometry Based On Homebuilt, Auto-locked Laser Systems

激光的发明改变了我们对光与物质相互作用的理解，导致了基础科学的革命性进步，并导致了深远的技术突破。申请人的团队已经开发了一种新型的低成本、自制、真空密封、自动锁定的激光系统（ALS），该系统可以在没有人为干预的情况下，对原子、分子和温度可调的固态频率标记进行频率稳定。ALS技术使高功率脉冲激光系统、光机械反馈控制系统、激光强度、频率和相位控制技术以及高速数据采集系统的发展成为可能。ALS的部署改变了申请人的研究计划，并导致了一系列与原子物理和工业计量相关的快速发展的精密测量。本提案的首要主题是利用申请人开发的独特相干瞬态技术在以下关键领域实现ALS的应用：1)由于渐近激光系统的性能已经超过了几代人以来广泛使用的商业激光系统，因此它们将被小型化，以便便携式装置可以集成到商业重力仪中，用于石油和天然气的非侵入式勘探，指定用于资源开采的环境敏感地区的地震监测，以及潮汐预报。2) ALS将通过锁定外部空腔来缩小线，以便它们适用于使用激光冷却原子的最先进的重力原子干涉测量。这种超冷原子传感器将用于验证目前缺乏可靠校准手段的工业重力仪。3) ALS的相位噪声将被表征，使他们能够实现原子寿命的最精确测量，使用一个特别合适的和被忽视的相干瞬态技术。这样的测量将测试原子结构的理论计算，这些计算需要解释探究物理标准模型的宇称非守恒实验。4)基于ALS的脉冲激光系统将用于开发、比较和改进时域磁强计，以实现最灵敏的磁场测量，并实现最精确的扩散系数测量，这是了解磁强计性能所必需的。便携式脉冲激光系统将与用于探测金属和矿藏的航空勘测的磁力计集成，并用于开发多功能激光雷达系统，该系统可以在扩展的光谱范围内工作，用于大气污染物和微量气体的环境监测。5)在快速时间尺度上跟踪捕获粒子运动的自由空间光镊实验将用于污染物和病原体的快速表征和准确质量测定。

The invention of the laser has transformed our understanding of light-matter interactions, leading to revolutionary advances in fundamental science, and resulting in far-reaching technological breakthroughs. The applicant's group has developed a new class of low cost, homebuilt, vacuum-sealed, auto-locking laser systems (ALS) that can be frequency stabilized with respect to atomic, molecular, and temperature tunable solid-state frequency markers without human intervention. ALS technology has enabled the development of high power pulsed laser systems, control systems for opto-mechanical feedback, techniques for manipulation of laser intensity, frequency, and phase, and high-speed data acquisition systems. The deployment of ALS has transformed the applicant's research program and led to a series of rapidly evolving precision measurements relevant to atomic physics and industrial metrology. The overriding theme of this proposal is to realize applications of ALS by utilizing distinctive coherent transient techniques developed by the applicant in the following key areas: 1) Since ALS have outperformed widely established commercial laser systems that have been used for generations, they will be miniaturized so that portable units can be integrated into commercial gravimeters that are used for the non-invasive exploration of oil and natural gas, seismic monitoring of environmentally sensitive areas designated for resource extraction, and tidal forecasting. 2) ALS will be line narrowed by locking to external cavities so that they are suitable for state of the art, atom interferometric measurements of gravity using laser-cooled atoms. Such an ultracold atom sensor will used to certify industrial gravimeters that currently lack reliable means of calibration. 3) The phase noise of ALS will be characterized so that they can realize the most accurate measurements of atomic lifetimes using a particularly suitable and overlooked coherent transient technique. Such measurements will test theoretical calculations of atomic structure required to interpret parity non-conservation experiments that probe the standard model of physics. 4) Pulsed laser systems based on ALS will be used to develop, compare, and improve time domain magnetometers that can realize the most sensitive measurements of magnetic fields, and for achieving the most accurate measurements of diffusion coefficients that are required to understand the performance of magnetometers. Portable pulsed laser systems will be integrated with magnetometers used in airborne surveys for the detection of metal and mineral deposits, and used to develop versatile lidar systems that can operate over extended spectral ranges for environmental monitoring of atmospheric pollutants and trace gases. 5) Free space optical tweezers experiments that track kinematics of trapped particles on fast time scales will be developed for the rapid characterization and accurate mass determinations of contaminants and pathogens.