Hybrid atomic–optical quantum gyrometry

A “hybrid” atomic–optical scheme of an interferometer–gyroscope has been proposed and investigated. It is based on the ring configuration of a Bose–Einstein condensate that is intercepted by an additional potential barrier or well. This ring configuration defect is created by a nonresonant radiation beam that interacts dispersively with the atoms located in its region. The beam propagates along one of the arms of a Mach–Zehnder interferometer. The rotation of the gyrometer reference system modifies the state of the condensate due to the mentioned potential defect and it, in turn, changes the conditions of interference of radiation interacting with atoms. In contrast to the well-known ideas of using the Bose–Einstein condensate in gyrometry, which imply the destruction of the condensate in order to directly observe its interference, the proposed scheme ideally operates without the loss of atoms by the condensate. The efficiency of the scheme has been estimated for realistic conditions.