Mach-Zehnder atom interferometry with non-interacting trapped Bose-Einstein condensates

Year: 2026

Authors: Petrucciani T., Santoni A., Mazzinghi C., Trypogeorgos D., Cataliotti FS., Inguscio M., Modugno G., Smerzi A., Pezzè L., Fattori M.

Autors Affiliation: Natl Res Council CNR INO, Natl Inst Opt, Florence, Italy; Univ Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy; European Lab Nonlinear Spect LENS, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; Natl Res Council CNR Nanotec, Inst Nanotechnol, Lecce, Italy; Univ Florence, Dept Phys & Astron, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; QSTAR, Florence, Italy.

Abstract: The coherent manipulation of a quantum wave is at the core of quantum sensing. For instance, atom interferometers require splitting and recombination processes to map the accumulated phase shift into a measurable population signal. Although Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) are the archetype of coherent matter waves, their manipulation in double-well potentials has been limited by the strong interparticle collisions dominating over the tunneling energy. Here, we overcome this problem by using BECs with tunable interactions trapped in an innovative array of double-well potentials and exploiting quantum tunneling to realize coherent beam splitting. We operate several Mach-Zehnder interferometers in parallel, canceling common-mode potential instabilities by a differential analysis, thus demonstrating a trapped-atom gradiometer. Furthermore, by applying a spin-echo protocol, we suppress additional decoherence sources and approach unprecedented coherence times of one second. Our interferometer will find applications in precision measurements of forces with a sub-micron spatial resolution and in linear manipulation of quantum entangled states for sensing with sub-shot-noise sensitivity.

Journal/Review: NATURE COMMUNICATIONS

Volume: 17 (1)      Pages from: 3948-1  to: 3948-9

More Information: We acknowledge financial support by the project SQUEIS of the QuantERA ERA-NET Cofund in Quantum Technologies (Grant Agreement No. 731473 and 101017733) implemented within the European Unions Horizon 2020 Program. We also thank the financial support of the Italian Ministry of Universities and Research under the PRIN2022 project Quantum sensing and precision measurements with nonclassical states. Finally, the project has been co-funded by the European Union-Next Generation EU under the PNRR MUR project PE0000023-NQSTI and under the I-PHOQS ’Integrated Infrastructure Ini tiative in Photonic and Quantum Sciences’.
KeyWords: Phase Diffusion; Nobel Lecture; Constant
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-69692-7