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  • Open Access

Wavefront Mapping for Absolute Atom Interferometry

Joseph Junca1,2, John Kitching1, and William McGehee1,*

  • *Contact author: william.mcgehee@nist.gov
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 143402 – Published 10 April, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/2c2j-qhkd

Abstract

Wavefront distortions are a leading source of systematic uncertainty in light-pulse atom interferometry, limiting absolute measurements of gravitational acceleration at the 30  nm/s2 level. Here, we demonstrate in situ spatially resolved measurement of the interferometer phase in a Mach-Zehnder atom interferometer as a tool to characterize and correct wavefront bias. By introducing controllable curvature of the Raman light using an adjustable collimation retro-reflector, we show that the bias due to parabolic wavefront curvature can be measured with 1 mrad uncertainty and that finite-size corrections impact the measured phase curvature. This measurement process could be adopted in optimized atom interferometer gravimeters to reduce wavefront bias uncertainty below the nm/s2 level.

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 143402– Published 10 April, 2026
  • Received 30 July 2025
  • Accepted 12 March 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

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