Matter-wave interferometry based on cold and ultra-cold atom sources is a powerful tool for measurements of inertial and magnetic fields, physical constants as well as tests of fundamental physics. I will briefly introduce the working principle and characteristics of atom interferometers and talk about precision gravity measurements with a transportable atom interferometer in Germany and Sweden. The performance of this device will be compared to other classical and atomic gravimeters.

The second part of this talk will highlight our research group’s activities in atom interferometry with Rubidium BECs such as multi-field measurements, large momentum beam-splitting with Bragg transitions and interferometry in a waveguide. These techniques pave the way towards compact quantum sensors for multi-axis and multi-field measurements which will enable previously unfeasible applications such as absolute gravity mapping and drift-free inertial navigation.

Christian Freier is an experimental physicist and postdoctoral research fellow in the Atomlaser and Quantum Sensors group at the Department of Quantum Science. He received his PhD in 2017 from Humboldt University Berlin for his work on a transportable cold atom interferometer and precision gravity measurements in Germany and Sweden. He is currently working on a capability and technology demonstrator project to improve the effectiveness of inertial navigation through quantum sensing techniques.