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Two kinds of multidimensional atom interferometers are demonstrated that are capable of measuring both the magnitude and direction of applied inertial forces. These interferometers, built from ultracold Bose-Einstein condensed rubidium atoms, use an original design that operates entirely within the Bloch bands of an optical lattice. Through time-dependent lattice position control, we realize Bloch oscillations in two dimensions and a vector atomic Michelson interferometer. Fits to the observed Bloch oscillations demonstrate the measurement of an applied acceleration of 2galong two axes, wheregis Earth’s gravitational acceleration. For the Michelson interferometer, we perform Bayesian inferencing from a 49-channel output by repeating experiments for two-axis accelerations and demonstrate vector parameter estimation. Accelerations can be measured from single experimental runs and do not require repeated shots to construct a fringe. The performance of our device is near the quantum limit for the interferometer size and quantum detection efficiency of the atoms. 

In this paper, we propose a paradigm for atom interferometry and demonstrate that there exists a universal set of atom optic components for inertial sensing. These components constitute gates with which we carry out quantum operations and represent input-output matter wave transformations between lattice eigenstates. Each gate is associated with a modulation pattern of the position of the optical lattice according to machine-designed protocols. In this methodology, a sensor can be reprogramed to respond to an evolving set of design priorities without modifying the hardware. We assert that such a gate set is metrologically universal, in analogy to universal gate sets for quantum computing. Experimental confirmation of the designed operation is demonstrated via imaging of the spatial evolution of a Bose-Einstein condensate in an optical lattice and by measurement of the momentum probabilities following time-of-flight expansion. The representation of several basic quantum sensing circuits is presented for the measurement of inertial forces, rotating reference frames, and gravity gradients. Published by the American Physical Society2025 

Performing interferometry in an optical lattice formed by standing waves of light offers potential advantages over its free-space equivalents since the atoms can be confined and manipulated by the optical potential. We demonstrate such an interferometer in a one-dimensional lattice and show the ability to control the atoms by imaging and reconstructing the wave function at many stages during its cycle. An acceleration signal is applied, and the resulting performance is seen to be close to the optimum possible for the time-space area enclosed according to quantum theory. Our methodology of machine design enables the sensor to be reconfigurable on the fly, and when scaled up, offers the potential to make state-of-the art inertial and gravitational sensors that will have a wide range of potential applications. Published by the American Physical Society2024 

In this paper, we investigate a design approach of reinforcement learning to engineer a gyroscope in an optical lattice for the inertial sensing of rotations. Our methodology is not based on traditional atom interferometry, that is, splitting, reflecting, and recombining wavefunction components. Instead, the learning agent is assigned the task of generating lattice shaking sequences that optimize the sensitivity of the gyroscope to rotational signals in an end-to-end design philosophy. What results is an interference device that is completely distinct from the familiar Mach-Zehnder-type interferometer. For the same total interrogation time, the end-to-end design leads to a twentyfold improvement in sensitivity over traditional Bragg interferometry. Published by the American Physical Society2024 

We present a simple and effective method to create highly entangled spin states on a faster timescale than that of the commonly employed one-axis twisting (OAT) model. We demonstrate that by periodically driving the Dicke Hamiltonian at a resonance frequency, the system effectively becomes a two-axis countertwisting Hamiltonian, which is known to quickly create Heisenberg limit scaled entangled states. For these states we show that simple quadrature measurements can saturate the ultimate precision limit for parameter estimation determined by the quantum Cramér-Rao bound. An example experimental realization of the periodically driven scheme is discussed with the potential to quickly generate momentum entanglement in a recently described experimental vertical cavity system. We analyze effects of collective dissipation in this vertical cavity system and find that our squeezing protocol can be more robust than the previous realization of OAT. Published by the American Physical Society2024 

Estimating a quantum phase is a necessary task in a wide range of fields of quantum science. To accomplish this task, two well-known methods have been developed in distinct contexts, namely, Ramsey interferometry (RI) in atomic and molecular physics and quantum phase estimation (QPE) in quantum computing. We demonstrate that these canonical examples are instances of a larger class of phase estimation protocols, which we call reductive quantum phase estimation (RQPE) circuits. Here, we present an explicit algorithm that allows one to create an RQPE circuit. This circuit distinguishes an arbitrary set of phases with a smaller number of qubits and unitary applications, thereby solving a general class of quantum hypothesis testing to which RI and QPE belong. We further demonstrate a tradeoff between measurement precision and phase distinguishability, which allows one to tune the circuit to be optimal for a specific application. Published by the American Physical Society2024