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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Robust Optimized Pulse Schemes for Atomic Fountain Interferometry

The robustness of an atomic fountain interferometer with respect to variations in the initial velocity of the atoms and deviations from the optimal pulse amplitude is examined. We numerically simulate the dynamics of an interferometer in momentum space with a maximum separation of and map out the expected signal contrast depending on the variance of the initial velocity distribution and the value of the laser field amplitude. We show that an excitation scheme based on rapid adiabatic passage significantly enhances the expected signal contrast, compared to the commonly used scheme consisting of a series of and pulses. We demonstrate further substantial increase of the robustness by using optimal control theory to identify splitting and swapping pulses that perform well on an ensemble average of pulse amplitudes and velocities. Our results demonstrate the ability of optimal control to significantly enhance future implementations of atomic fountain interferometry.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2007

Recirculation of Laser Power in an Atomic Fountain

A new technique for laser-cooling atoms in a cesium atomic fountain frequency standard relies on recirculation of laser light through the atom-collection region of the fountain. The recirculation, accomplished by means of reflections from multiple fixed beam-splitter cubes, is such that each of two laser beams makes three passes. As described below, this recirculation scheme offers several advantages over prior designs, including simplification of the laser system, greater optical power throughput, fewer optical and electrical connections, and simplification of beam power balancing. A typical laser-cooled cesium fountain requires the use of six laser beams arranged as three orthogonal pairs of counter-propagating beams to decelerate the atoms and hold them in a three-dimensional optical trap in vacuum. Typically, these trapping/cooling beams are linearly polarized and are positioned and oriented so that (1) counter-propagating beams in each pair have opposite linear polarizations and (2) three of the six orthogonal beams have the sum of their propagation directions pointing up, while the other three have the sum of their propagation directions pointing down. In a typical prior design, two lasers are used - one to generate the three "up" beams, the other to generate the three "down" beams. For this purpose, the output of each laser is split three ways, then the resulting six beams are delivered to the vacuum system, independently of each other, via optical fibers. The present recirculating design also requires two lasers, but the beams are not split before delivery. Instead, only one "up" beam and one oppositely polarized "down" beam are delivered to the vacuum system, and each of these beams is sent through the collection region three times. The polarization of each beam on each pass through the collection region is set up to yield the same combination of polarization and propagation directions as described above. In comparison with the prior design, the present recirculating design utilizes the available laser light more efficiently, making it possible to trap more atoms at a given laser power or the same number of atoms at a lower laser power. The present design is also simpler in that it requires fewer optical fibers, fiber couplings, and collimators, and fewer photodiodes for monitoring beam powers. Additionally, the present design alleviates the difficulty of maintaining constant ratios among power levels of the beams within each "up" or "down" triplet.

Enzer, Daphna G.↗
NASA NTRS1993

A laser-cooled cesium fountain frequency standard and a measurement of the frequency shift due to ultra-cold collisions

A frequency standard based on an atomic fountain of cesium atoms may have an accuracy of 10(exp -16) due to longer interaction times and smaller anticipated systematic errors. All of the known systematic effects that now limit the accuracy of the Cs frequency standard increase either linearly or as some higher power of the atom's velocity. The one systematic frequency shift which is dramatically different is the frequency shift due to the collisions between the laser cooled atoms. At a temperature of a few micro-K, the de Broglie wavelength (lambda(sub deB) = h/p, where h is Planck's constant and p is the momentum of the atom) is much larger than the scale of the interatomic potential. Under these conditions the collision cross sections can be as large as (lambda(sub deB)(sup 2))/Pi and the frequency shift due to these collisions was recently calculated. In our Cs atomic fountain, we laser cooled and trapped 10(exp 10) Cs atoms in 0.4 s. By shifting the frequencies of the laser beams, the atoms were launched upwards at 2.5 m/s and a fraction of the atoms were optically pumped into the F=3 ground state. The unwanted atoms in the F=4 ground state were removed from the fountain with radiation pressure from a laser beam tuned to excite only those atoms. The Cs atoms in the F=3 state traveled ballistically upwards, were excited by the microwave cavity, and then returned back through the same cavity in the atomic fountain configuration. By varying the cold atom density, a density dependent shift of -12.9 +/- 0.7 mHz or -1.4 x 10-12 for an average fountain density of (2.7 +/- 1.5) 10(exp 9) atoms/cm(sup 3) was measured.

Gibble, Kurt↗
NASA NTRS2008

Low-Light-Shift Cesium Fountain without Mechanical Shutters

A new technique for reducing errors in a laser-cooled cesium fountain frequency standard provides for strong suppression of the light shift without need for mechanical shutters. Because mechanical shutters are typically susceptible to failure after operating times of the order of months, the elimination of mechanical shutters could contribute significantly to the reliability of frequency standards that are required to function continuously for longer time intervals. With respect to the operation of an atomic-fountain frequency standard, the term "light shift" denotes an undesired relative shift in the two energy levels of the atoms (in this case, cesium atoms) in the atomic fountain during interrogation by microwaves. The shift in energy levels translates to a frequency shift that reduces the precision and possibly accuracy of the frequency standard. For reasons too complex to describe within the space available for this article, the light shift is caused by any laser light that reaches the atoms during the microwave- interrogation period, but is strongest for near-resonance light. In the absence of any mitigating design feature, the light shift, expressed as a fraction of the standard fs frequency, could be as large as approx. 2 x 10(exp -11), the largest error in the standard. In a typical prior design, to suppress light shift, the intensity of laser light is reduced during the interrogation period by using a single-pass acoustooptic modulator to deflect the majority of light away from the main optical path. Mechanical shutters are used to block the remaining undeflected light to ensure complete attenuation. Without shutters, this remaining undeflected light could cause a light shift of as much as .10.15, which is unacceptably large in some applications. The new technique implemented here involves additionally shifting the laser wavelength off resonance by a relatively large amount (typically of the order of nanometers) during microwave interrogation. In this design, when microwave interrogation is not underway, the atoms are illuminated by a slave laser locked to the lasing frequency of a lower power master laser.

Enzer, Daphna↗
NASA NTRS2004

Measuring Gravitation Using Polarization Spectroscopy

A proposed method of measuring gravitational acceleration would involve the application of polarization spectroscopy to an ultracold, vertically moving cloud of atoms (an atomic fountain). A related proposed method involving measurements of absorption of light pulses like those used in conventional atomic interferometry would yield an estimate of the number of atoms participating in the interferometric interaction. The basis of the first-mentioned proposed method is that the rotation of polarization of light is affected by the acceleration of atoms along the path of propagation of the light. The rotation of polarization is associated with a phase shift: When an atom moving in a laboratory reference interacts with an electromagnetic wave, the energy levels of the atom are Doppler-shifted, relative to where they would be if the atom were stationary. The Doppler shift gives rise to changes in the detuning of the light from the corresponding atomic transitions. This detuning, in turn, causes the electromagnetic wave to undergo a phase shift that can be measured by conventional means. One would infer the gravitational acceleration and/or the gradient of the gravitational acceleration from the phase measurements.

Matsko, Andrey↗
NASA NTRS2001

Ground-Based Investigations with the Cryogenic Hydrogen Maser

The room temperature hydrogen maser is an active atomic oscillator used as a high-frequency-stability local oscillator for radio astronomy, metrology, and spacecraft navigation, and in tests of fundamental physics. The cryogenic hydrogen maser (CHM) operates at 0.5 K, employing superfluid helium-coated walls to store the masing hydrogen atoms. We are investigating whether the CHM may provide better frequency stability than the room temperature hydrogen maser: one to three orders of magnitude improvement may be possible because of greatly reduced thermal noise and larger signal power. Exceptional frequency stability will be required for spacecraft tracking in future deep-space missions, for space-based tests of relativity and gravitation, and for local (i.e., flywheel) oscillators used with absolute frequency standards such as laser-cooled atomic fountains and linear ion traps. These new devices are passive high-resolution frequency discriminators. Alone, they cannot function as superior atomic clocks; their effective operation depends on being integrated with an active local oscillator with excellent short term stability - such as that possible with the CHM.

Walsworth, Ronald L.↗
NASA NTRS2010

A Transportable Gravity Gradiometer Based on Atom Interferometry

A transportable atom interferometer-based gravity gradiometer has been developed at JPL to carry out measurements of Earth's gravity field at ever finer spatial resolutions, and to facilitate high-resolution monitoring of temporal variations in the gravity field from ground- and flight-based platforms. Existing satellite-based gravity missions such as CHAMP and GRACE measure the gravity field via precise monitoring of the motion of the satellites; i.e. the satellites themselves function as test masses. JPL's quantum gravity gradiometer employs a quantum phase measurement technique, similar to that employed in atomic clocks, made possible by recent advances in laser cooling and manipulation of atoms. This measurement technique is based on atomwave interferometry, and individual laser-cooled atoms are used as drag-free test masses. The quantum gravity gradiometer employs two identical atom interferometers as precision accelerometers to measure the difference in gravitational acceleration between two points (Figure 1). By using the same lasers for the manipulation of atoms in both interferometers, the accelerometers have a common reference frame and non-inertial accelerations are effectively rejected as common mode noise in the differential measurement of the gravity gradient. As a result, the dual atom interferometer-based gravity gradiometer allows gravity measurements on a moving platform, while achieving the same long-term stability of the best atomic clocks. In the laboratory-based prototype (Figure 2), the cesium atoms used in each atom interferometer are initially collected and cooled in two separate magneto-optic traps (MOTs). Each MOT, consisting of three orthogonal pairs of counter-propagating laser beams centered on a quadrupole magnetic field, collects up to 10(exp 9) atoms. These atoms are then launched vertically as in an atom fountain by switching off the magnetic field and introducing a slight frequency shift between pairs of lasers to create a moving rest frame for the trapped atoms. While still in this moving-frame molasses, the laser frequencies are further detuned from the atomic resonance (while maintaining this relative frequency shift) to cool the atom cloud's temperature to 2 K or below, corresponding to an rms velocity of less than 2 cm/s. After launch, the cold atoms undergo further state and velocity selection to prepare for atom interferometry. The atom interferometers are then realized using laser-induced stimulated Raman transitions to perform the necessary manipulations of each atom, and the resulting interferometer phase is measured using laser-induced fluorescence for state-normalized detection. More than 20 laser beams with independent controls of frequency, phase, and intensity are required for this measurement sequence. This instrument can facilitate the study of Earth's gravitational field from surface and air vehicles, as well as from space by allowing gravity mapping from a low-cost, single spacecraft mission. In addition, the operation of atom interferometer-based instruments in space offers greater sensitivity than is possible in terrestrial instruments due to the much longer interrogation times available in the microgravity environment. A space-based quantum gravity gradiometer has the potential to achieve sensitivities similar to the GRACE mission at long spatial wavelengths, and will also have resolution similar to GOCE for measurement at shorter length scales.

Yu, Nan↗
NASA NTRS2007

NASA Tech Briefs, March 2007

Topics include: Advanced Systems for Monitoring Underwater Sounds; Wireless Data-Acquisition System for Testing Rocket Engines; Processing Raw HST Data With Up-to-Date Calibration Data; Mobile Collection and Automated Interpretation of EEG Data; System for Secure Integration of Aviation Data; Servomotor and Controller Having Large Dynamic Range; Digital Multicasting of Multiple Audio Streams; Translator for Optimizing Fluid-Handling Components; AIRSAR Web-Based Data Processing; Pattern Matcher for Trees Constructed From Lists; Reducing a Knowledge-Base Search Space When Data Are Missing; Ground-Based Correction of Remote-Sensing Spectral Imagery; State-Chart Autocoder; Pointing History Engine for the Spitzer Space Telescope; Low-Friction, High-Stiffness Joint for Uniaxial Load Cell; Magnet-Based System for Docking of Miniature Spacecraft; Electromechanically Actuated Valve for Controlling Flow Rate; Plumbing Fixture for a Microfluidic Cartridge; Camera Mount for a Head-Up Display; Core-Cutoff Tool; Recirculation of Laser Power in an Atomic Fountain; Simplified Generation of High-Angular-Momentum Light Beams; Imaging Spectrometer on a Chip; Interferometric Quantum-Nondemolition Single-Photon Detectors; Ring-Down Spectroscopy for Characterizing a CW Raman Laser; Complex Type-II Interband Cascade MQW Photodetectors; Single-Point Access to Data Distributed on Many Processors; Estimating Dust and Water Ice Content of the Martian Atmosphere From THEMIS Data; Computing a Stability Spectrum by Use of the HHT; Theoretical Studies of Routes to Synthesis of Tetrahedral N4; Estimation Filter for Alignment of the Spitzer Space Telescope; Antenna for Measuring Electric Fields Within the Inner Heliosphere; Improved High-Voltage Gas Isolator for Ion Thruster; and Hybrid Mobile Communication Networks for Planetary Exploration.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1976

The interpretations of ultraviolet observations of comets

The paper summarizes recent cometary UV observations, most of which were made in Ly-alpha light with instruments aboard earth-orbiting satellites. These include OAO-2 observations of comets Bennett and Tago-Sato-Kosaka, OGO-5 observations of comets Bennett and Encke, and numerous observations of comet Kohoutek. Models for the production of cometary hydrogen atoms are described, including the fountain, syndyname, and parent-daughter models. Calculations of emission line profiles and multiple-scattering effects are also discussed. Results of observations and interpretations are reviewed for each cited comet, far-UV observations in other emission lines are noted, and the use of comets as solar-wind probes is considered. It is concluded that the results of the present cometary Ly-alpha observations strongly support the concept of an icy conglomerate solid cometary nucleus and suggest water to be one of the most abundant molecules in comets.

Keller, H. U.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Performance of the PARCS Testbed Cesium Fountain Frequency Standard

A cesium fountain frequency standard has been developed as a ground testbed for the PARCS (Primary Atomic Reference Clock in Space) experiment, an experiment intended to fly on the International Space Station. We report on the performance of the fountain and describe some of the implementations motivated in large part by flight considerations, but of relevance for ground fountains. In particular, we report on a new technique for delivering cooling and trapping laser beams to the atom collection region, in which a given beam is recirculated three times effectively providing much more optical power than traditional configurations. Allan deviations down to 10 have been achieved with this method.

cesium↗
NASA NTRS2019

A Pulsar-Based Time-Scale from the International Pulsar Timing Array

We have constructed a new time-scale, TT(IPTA16), based on observations of radio pulsars presented in the first data release from the International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA). We used two analysis techniques with independent estimates of the noise models for the pulsar observations and different algorithms for obtaining the pulsar time-scale. The two analyses agree within the estimated uncertainties and both agree with TT(BIPM17), a post-corrected time-scale produced by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM). We show that both methods could detect significant errors in TT(BIPM17) if they were present. We estimate the stability of the atomic clocks from which TT(BIPM17) is derived using observations of four rubidium fountain clocks at the US Naval Observatory. Comparing the power spectrum of TT(IPTA16) with that of these fountain clocks suggests that pulsar-based time-scales are unlikely to contribute to the stability of the best time-scales over the next decade, but they will remain a valuable independent check on atomic time-scales. We also find that the stability of the pulsar-based time-scale is likely to be limited by our knowledge of solar-system dynamics, and that errors in TT(BIPM17) will not be a limiting factor for the primary goal of the IPTA, which is to search for the signatures of nano-Hertz gravitational waves.

G. Hobbs↗
NASA NTRS2003

RACE and Calculations of Three-dimensional Distributed Cavity Phase Shifts

The design for RACE, a Rb-clock flight experiment for the ISS, is described. The cold collision shift and multiple launching (juggling) have important implications for the design and the resulting clock accuracy and stability. We present and discuss the double clock design for RACE. This design reduces the noise contributions of the local oscillator and simplifies and enhances an accuracy evaluation of the clock. As we try to push beyond the current accuracies of clocks, new systematic errors become important. The best fountain clocks are using cylindrical TE(sub 011) microwave cavities. We recently pointed out that many atoms pass through a node of the standing wave microwave field in these cavities. Previous studies have shown potentially large frequency shifts for atoms passing through nodes in a TE(sub 013) cavity. The shift occurs because there is a small traveling wave component due to the absorption of the copper cavity walls. The small traveling wave component leads to position dependent phase shifts. To study these effects, we perform Finite Element calculations. Three-dimensional Finite Element calculations require significant computer resources. Here we show that the cylindrical boundary condition can be Fourier decomposed to a short series of two-dimensional problems. This dramatically reduces the time and memory required and we obtain (3D) phase distributions for a variety of cavities. With these results, we will be able to analyze this frequency shift in fountain and future space clocks.

Li, Ruoxin↗
NASA NTRS2005

Light shift measurements in a Cesium Fountain without the use of mechanical shutters

We present measurements confirming operation of a cesium fountain frequency standard with light shift below 10^-15 (and with evidence suggesting it is several orders of magnitude below this level) but without the use of mechanical shutters. Suppression of the light shift is realized using a master-slave laser configuration by reducing the overall optical power delivered to the physics package as well as spoiling the injection of the slave, causing it to lase far off resonance (1-2 nm) as proposed by the authors several years ago [l]. In the absence of any mitigation, this (AC Stark) shift, due to near-resonant laser light reaching the atoms during their microwave interrogation period, is the largest shift in such frequency standards (2x10^-11 for Our fountain). Mechanical shutters provided adequate light attenuation but have been prone to failure.

light shift measurements↗
NASA NTRS1993

Time scale algorithms for an inhomogeneous group of atomic clocks

Through the past 17 years, the time scale requirements at the National Research Council (NRC) have been met by the unsteered output of its primary laboratory cesium clocks, supplemented by hydrogen masers when short-term stability better than 2 x 10(exp -12)tau(sup -1/2) has been required. NRC now operates three primary laboratory cesium clocks, three hydrogen masers, and two commercial cesium clocks. NRC has been using ensemble averages for internal purposes for the past several years, and has a realtime algorithm operating on the outputs of its high-resolution (2 x 10(exp -13) s at 1 s) phase comparators. The slow frequency drift of the hydrogen masers has presented difficulties in incorporating their short-term stability into the ensemble average, while retaining the long-term stability of the laboratory cesium frequency standards. We report on this work on algorithms for an inhomogeneous ensemble of atomic clocks, and on our initial work on time scale algorithms that could incorporate frequency calibrations at NRC from the next generation of Zacharias fountain cesium frequency standards having frequency accuracies that might surpass 10(exp -15), or from single-trapped-ion frequency standards (Ba+, Sr+,...) with even higher potential accuracies. The requirements for redundancy in all the elements (including the algorithms) of an inhomogeneous ensemble that would give a robust real-time output of the algorithms are presented and discussed.

Jacques, C.↗
NASA NTRS2008

NASA Tech Briefs, March 2008

Topics covered include: WRATS Integrated Data Acquisition System; Breadboard Signal Processor for Arraying DSN Antennas; Digital Receiver Phase Meter; Split-Block Waveguide Polarization Twist for 220 to 325 GHz; Nano-Multiplication-Region Avalanche Photodiodes and Arrays; Tailored Asymmetry for Enhanced Coupling to WGM Resonators; Disabling CNT Electronic Devices by Use of Electron Beams; Conical Bearingless Motor/Generators; Integrated Force Method for Indeterminate Structures; Carbon-Nanotube-Based Electrodes for Biomedical Applications; Compact Directional Microwave Antenna for Localized Heating; Using Hyperspectral Imagery to Identify Turfgrass Stresses; Shaping Diffraction-Grating Grooves to Optimize Efficiency; Low-Light-Shift Cesium Fountain without Mechanical Shutters; Magnetic Compensation for Second-Order Doppler Shift in LITS; Nanostructures Exploit Hybrid-Polariton Resonances; Microfluidics, Chromatography, and Atomic-Force Microscopy; Model of Image Artifacts from Dust Particles; Pattern-Recognition System for Approaching a Known Target; Orchestrator Telemetry Processing Pipeline; Scheme for Quantum Computing Immune to Decoherence; Spin-Stabilized Microsatellites with Solar Concentrators; Phase Calibration of Antenna Arrays Aimed at Spacecraft; Ring Bus Architecture for a Solid-State Recorder; and Image Compression Algorithm Altered to Improve Stereo Ranging.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1994

Frequency standards from industry over the next 25 years

Present and possible future performance for many of the existing and new commercial frequency standards is presented here. Recent progress in the gas cell atomic standards with regards to size and cost is significant and considerable improvement is expected. Cesium beam standards will benefit in stability and accuracy from optical pumping. Cooled hydrogen masers will offer extremely good stability. Advances in trapped ion and cesium fountain technologies make them good high performance candidates for the future. The quartz oscillator field is more mature and consequently performance improvements for the future are going to be less spectacular. Oscillators stabilized to GPS will have many applications. Recent performance of cooled microwave dielectric resonator oscillators is very good and they offer the promise of serving as flywheel oscillators for advanced performance atomic standards.

Cutler, Leonard S.↗
NASA NTRS2003

The FUSE Survey of 0 VI in the Galactic Halo

This paper summarizes the results of the Far-Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) program to study 0 VI in the Milky Way halo. Spectra of 100 extragalactic objects and two distant halo stars are analyzed to obtain measures of O VI absorption along paths through the Milky Way thick disk/halo. Strong O VI absorption over the velocity range from -100 to 100 km/s reveals a widespread but highly irregular distribution of O VI, implying the existence of substantial amounts of hot gas with T approx. 3 x 10(exp 5) K in the Milky Way thick disk/halo. The overall distribution of O VI is not well described by a symmetrical plane-parallel layer of patchy O VI absorption. The simplest departure from such a model that provides a reasonable fit to the observations is a plane-parallel patchy absorbing layer with an average O VI mid-plane density of n(sub 0)(O VI) = 1.7 x 10(exp -2)/cu cm, a scale height of approx. 2.3 kpc, and a approx. 0.25 dex excess of O VI in the northern Galactic polar region. The distribution of O VI over the sky is poorly correlated with other tracers of gas in the halo, including low and intermediate velocity H I, Ha emission from the warm ionized gas at approx. l0(exp 4) K, and hot X-ray emitting gas at approx. l0(exp 6) K . The O VI has an average velocity dispersion, b approx. 60 km/s and standard deviation of 15 km/s. Thermal broadening alone cannot explain the large observed profile widths. A combination of models involving the radiative cooling of hot fountain gas, the cooling of supernova bubbles in the halo, and the turbulent mixing of warm and hot halo gases is required to explain the presence of O VI and other highly ionized atoms found in the halo. The preferential venting of hot gas from local bubbles and superbubbles into the northern Galactic polar region may explain the enhancement of O VI in the North.

Sonneborn, George↗
NASA NTRS1987

Hot interstellar gas in the Galactic disk and halo

The diagnostic methods used to study the hot interstellar medium (ISM) are discussed. Observational results for hot gas in the Galactic disk and halo are presented with attention given to absorption line and diffuse X-ray emission studies. It is noted that UV measurements of O I and other highly ionized atoms are a good probe of gas with temperatures near 1-300,000 K. An overview is given of the theory of the hot ISM as it might apply to disk and halo gas. A combination of the galactic fountain and the photoionized halo models may describe hot gas in the Galactic halo.

Savage, Blair D.↗