Raman detuning compensation in atom gravimeters for surveys of marine gravity
Phys. Rev. Applied 26, 024058 – Published 20 August, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/9cy9-3jd3
Abstract
A cold-atom gravimeter, with high sensitivity, long-term stability, and absence of mechanical wear, provides an unprecedented technical means for geology, resource exploration, and the establishment of a high-resolution marine geoid. However, present atom gravimeters still face severe challenges from broadband and large-amplitude vibrations caused by waves and engines in the dynamic marine environment. Conventionally, vibration compensation is employed to address such issues, but it is insufficient for accelerations with amplitudes reaching up to during navigation. Variations in the probe velocity can lead to large detuning of the Raman laser and thus introduce additional phase shifts. To address this problem, we proposed a postcorrection method, Raman detuning compensation, built upon the existing vibration compensation, and validated its effectiveness aboard a commercial cargo ship, where the data noise can be reduced to 45% of the previous value after compensation during the voyage. This scheme is expected to overcome the limitations of existing vibration compensation methods and advance cold-atom gravimeters toward practical vehicular, marine, and aviation applications.
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Corrections
25 September, 2026
Correction: Formatting errors in the text preceding Eq. (A3), Figure 8, Eq. (B1), and in Eq. (A6) have been fixed.