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，并带来了意义深远的技术突破。申请人的小组已经开发了一类新的低成本、自制、真空密封、自动锁定激光系统（ALS），其可以在没有人为干预的情况下相对于原子、分子和温度可调谐固态频率标记进行频率稳定。ALS技术使得高功率脉冲激光系统、用于光机械反馈的控制系统、用于操纵激光强度、频率和相位的技术以及高速数据采集系统的开发成为可能。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学和工业计量学相关的快速发展的精密测量。该提案的首要主题是通过利用申请人在以下关键领域开发的独特的相干瞬态技术来实现ALS的应用：1）由于ALS的性能优于已经使用了几代人的广泛建立的商业激光系统，它们将被小型化，以便便携式单元可以集成到用于石油和天然气的非侵入式勘探的商业重力仪中，对指定用于资源开采的环境敏感地区进行地震监测，并进行潮汐预报。2)ALS将通过锁定到外部腔而使线变窄，使得它们适合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认证目前缺乏可靠校准手段的工业重力仪。3)ALS的相位噪声的特点，使他们可以实现最准确的测量原子寿命使用一个特别合适的和被忽视的相干瞬态技术。这样的测量将测试解释探测物理学标准模型的宇称非守恒实验所需的原子结构的理论计算。4)基于ALS的脉冲激光系统将用于开发、比较和改进时域磁力计，以实现最灵敏的磁场测量，并实现最精确的扩散系数测量，以了解磁力计的性能。便携式脉冲激光系统将与航空勘测中使用的磁力计集成，用于探测金属和矿藏，并用于开发多功能激光雷达系统，该系统可在扩展的光谱范围内运行，用于大气污染物和痕量气体的环境监测。5)将开发自由空间光镊实验，在快速时间尺度上跟踪捕获粒子的运动学，以快速表征污染物和病原体并准确确定其质量。

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.