ECAMP 15

Atom interferometers are high-precision sensors for acceleration, rotation and magnetic fields. Space-borne atom interferometers promise a wide range of applications from geodesy to fundamental tests of physics. Their improved sensitivity due to prolonged interrogation times benefits from the macroscopic coherence length and slow expansion rates of Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs). A limit for the precision is the Standard Quantum Limit. By using entangled ensembles of atoms, the limit can be surpassed, improving the sensitivity of interferometric measurements.
The INTENTAS project is designed as a source of entangled atoms that can be operated on a microgravity platform. To demonstrate sensitivity beyond the Standard Quantum Limit, a rubidium BEC is generated, entangled via spin-changing collisions and detected with high resolution. For the generation process a fast, compact and robust system is necessary. Here, an all-optical approach has been chosen in order to avoid any structure, conducting surface or magnetic field located in the vicinity of the atoms. Using this a 2 Hz repetition rate has been achieved in a dedicated lab experiment. Furthermore, INTENTAS explored the capabilities of arbitrary shaped potentials via time-averaged potentials deployed in the all-optical approach. In this contribution I will present an overview of the experimental setup, measurement results from ground operation and insights from operation in the Einstein Elevator, a high repetition microgravity platform.