Estimation of phase diffusion rates in a condensate interferometer using the Gross-Pitaevskii Equation

Abstract

Atom interferometers using Bose-Einstein condensates are fundamentally limited by a phase diffusion process that arises from atomic interactions. The Gross-Pitaevskii equation is here used to accurately calculate the diffusion rate for a Bragg interferometer. It is seen to agree with a Thomas-Fermi approximation at large atom numbers and a perturbative approximation at low atom numbers. The diffusion times obtained are generally longer than the coherence times observed in experiments to date.