Ultra-Stable Matter-Wave Gyroscopy with Counter-Rotating Vortex Superpositions in Bose-Einstein Condensates

Abstract

Matter-wave interferometers are, in principle, orders of magnitude more sensitive than their optical counterparts. Nevertheless, creation of matter-wave currents to achieve such a sensitivity is a continuing challenge. Here, we propose the use of Optical Angular Momentum (OAM) induced vortex superpositions in Bose-Einstein Condensates (BECs) as an alternative to atom interferometers for gyroscopy. The coherent superposition of two counter-rotating vortex states of a trapped condensate leads to an interference pattern that rotates by an angle proportional to the angular velocity of the rotating trap \mdash in accordance with the Sagnac effect. We show that the rotation rate can be easily read out and that the device is highly stable. The signal-to-noise ratio and sensitivity of the scheme are also discussed.