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  • Letter
  • Open Access

Large momentum transfer Raman atom interferometer without k-reversal

Guanchen Peng, Bryony Lanigan, R. Shah, J. Lim, A. Kaushik, J. P. Cotter, E. A. Hinds, and B. E. Sauer*

  • Centre for Cold Matter, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom

  • *Contact author: ben.sauer@imperial.ac.uk
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Phys. Rev. Research 7, L032045 – Published 25 August, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/ghlb-v3jc

Abstract

We present a Raman atom interferometer using large momentum transfer without reversing the direction of the effective wave vector (k-reversal). More specifically, we use a microwave π/2 pulse to manipulate the spin state of Rb87 atoms before applying a Raman light π pulse to achieve 4ℏk momentum transfer per Raman light pulse. A microwave π pulse in the middle of the interferometer sequence reverses the spin states, which allows closing of the interferometer arms by the same Raman light π pulses without propagation reversal. We present a proof-of-principle demonstration of a 4ℏk large-momentum-transfer (LMT) atom interferometer and discuss its scalability. Our results extend the scope of using LMT atom optics.

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Phys. Rev. Research 7, L032045– Published 25 August, 2025
  • Received 13 February 2025
  • Accepted 21 July 2025
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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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