Measuring the effective height for atom gravimeters by applying a frequency jump to Raman lasers

Abstract

As the existence of the gravity gradient, the output of gravimeters is actually the gravitational acceleration at the reference instrumental height. Precise knowledge of the reference height is indispensable in the utilization of gravity measurements, especially for absolute gravimeters. Here, we present an interferometric method to measure the distance between the atomic cloud and a reflecting mirror directly, which consequently determines the reference height of our atom gravimeter. This interferometric method is based on a frequency jump of Raman lasers applied at the π pulse of the atom interferometer, which induces an additional phase shift proportional to the interested distance. An uncertainty of 2 mm is achieved here for the distance measurement, and the effect of the gravity gradient on absolute gravity measurements can thus be constrained within 1 μGal. This work provides a concrete-object-based measurement of the reference height for atom gravimeters.