Defense of Thesis “Condensat de Bose-Einstein par refroidissement évaporatif dans un piège dipolaire pour la métrologie par interférométrie atomique”

The Defense will take place of UPMC – 4 Place Jussieu – 75005 Paris.

This research work fulfilled as part of my PhD project involved to design, build and characterise a new experimental setup based on an atom source by evaporative cooling in an optical dipole trap. It goes after the improvement of the uncertainty on the measurement of  the ratio h/m between Planck’s constant and the rubidium atom mass, reducing the Gouy phase and wavefront curvature.
In a first step we have studied several optical configurations to optimise the dipole trap loading: the 50 W beam at 1070 nm is shaped in a double 93 μm waist reservoir and one crossed 20 μm waist dimple. After having optimised and caracterised the evaporative process, we obtained one Bose-Einstein condensate.
Furthermore, for Raman interferometry, we set up a new laser system at 1560 nm based on frequency doubling. We developed a double cervo loop: on the one hand, it allows to phase lock the two laser sources, and on the other hand to correct phase noise accumulated in fibered amplifiers.
Today, our new experimental setup is ready to perform atom interferometry on a Bose-Einstein condensate.

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Successful launch of MICROSCOPE

After three postponements for meterological reasons, the Soyouz VS14 rocket has been successfully launched from Kourou on 25th April 2016, with several satellites onboard, among them Microscope which has the objective to test the Einstein’s Equivalence Principle with the highest ever precision.

In France, in this mission funded by the French space agency CNES, ONERA is responsible of the development of the accelerometric instrument and of the Scientific Mission Center. The laboratory GEOAZUR (Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS) contributes to the mission plan and prepares the scientific processing in collaboration with ONERA. Other European institutions have also contributed to this mission : ESA, DLR, PTB, ZARM.

=> More information on Microscope

Contirbute to the Quantum Manifesto befor April 30th, 2016

Cold atoms are at the heart of the new quantum technologies (atomic clocks, quantum simulators, quantum sensors, first prototypes of quantum computers, etc.), which, in the near future, shall have a deep impact both on fundamental as well as on applied research.

Therefore, we find appropriate to invite you to read the “Quantum Manifesto” (*) (http://qurope.eu/system/files/u567/Quantum%20Manifesto.pdf)
calling the European Union to a sizable investment (a “flagship” initiative) into quantum technologies
To have the desired impact, this “Manifesto” needs the endorsement of the broadest possible number of members in our community, and therefore we invite you to subscribe it (before April 30th)
http://qurope.eu/manifesto
 
(*) The Quantum Manifesto writing team: Aymard de Touzalin (European Commission), Charles Marcus (Niels Bohr Institute), Freeke Heijman (NL EU presidency), Ignacio Cirac (Max Planck Institute), Richard Murray (Innovate UK), Tommaso Calarco (University of Ulm)

International Workshop on Ultra-cold Group II Atoms

This workshop, whose topic is theory and experiments with ultra-cold alkaline-earth atoms (Sr, Yb, Hg, Mg, Ra…), will take place on 22-24 Feb. 2016 at Paris Observatory.
Please feel free to come and attend the workshop in the amphitheatre of IAP.

The detailed program can be found at https://indico.obspm.fr/event/1/timetable/#all.detailed
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Seminars on the direct dectectoin of gravitational waves

Following the annoucement of the direct detection of gravitational waves, a one day meeting is organized on 17th Feb. 2016. The seminars will address the detectors, the observed signals, the consequences on astrophysics and fundamental physics.
This meeting will take place on Wednesday 17th Feb. 2016, starting at 09:30, in the amphitheatre Turing, Sophie Germain Building, Paris-Diderot University.
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