Characterization of an atom interferometer in the quasi-Bragg regime

Abstract

We provide a comprehensive study of ultra-cold atom diffraction by an optical lattice. We focus on an intermediate regime between the Raman-Nath and the Bragg regimes, the so-called quasi-Bragg regime. The experimental results are in a good agreement with a full numerical integration of the Schr\"odinger equation. We investigate the long pulse regime limited by a strong velocity selection and the short pulse regime limited by non-adiabatic losses. For each of these regimes, we estimate the multi-port features of the Bragg interferometers. Finally, we discuss the best compromise between these two regimes, considering the diffraction phase shift and the existence of parasitic interferometers.