Experimental Realization of a Mach–Zehnder-Type Internal-State Atom Interferometer in Sodium Spinor BEC

Jian, Jun; Zhao, Zhufang; Zhang, Quanxin; Wang, Shunxiang; Liu, Wenliang; Wu, Jizhou; Li, Yuqing; Ma, Jie

doi:10.3390/photonics13020135

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Open AccessArticle

Experimental Realization of a Mach–Zehnder-Type Internal-State Atom Interferometer in Sodium Spinor BEC

by

Jun Jian

¹,

Zhufang Zhao

¹,

Quanxin Zhang

¹,

Shunxiang Wang

¹,

Wenliang Liu

^1,2,*

,

Jizhou Wu

^1,2,*

,

Yuqing Li

^1,2 and

Jie Ma

^1,2

¹

State Key Laboratory of Quantum Optics Technologies and Devices, Institute of Laser Spectroscopy, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China

²

Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Photonics 2026, 13(2), 135; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics13020135

Submission received: 5 January 2026 / Revised: 15 January 2026 / Accepted: 29 January 2026 / Published: 30 January 2026

(This article belongs to the Section Quantum Photonics and Technologies)

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Abstract

This study demonstrates a Mach–Zehnder-type internal-state atom interferometer in a sodium F = 1 spinor Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC), which is realized by applying a three-pulse radio-frequency sequence (

π / 2

–

π

–

π / 2

) to manipulate the two magnetic sublevels

| 1, - 1 ⟩

and

| 1, 0 ⟩

. Phase-scanning experiments show that the visibility remains at a high level across all three pulse stages (

V > 0.77

). In the hold-time scanning measurements, the visibility decays exponentially with hold time, yet the system maintains good coherence. This work establishes a foundation for precision measurements based on internal-state atom interferometers, as the approach simplifies the experimental apparatus while maintaining good quantum coherence and high-contrast interference fringes.

Keywords: atom interferometer; spinor Bose-Einstein condensate; Mach-Zehnder interferometer; internal state interferometry

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MDPI and ACS Style

Jian, J.; Zhao, Z.; Zhang, Q.; Wang, S.; Liu, W.; Wu, J.; Li, Y.; Ma, J. Experimental Realization of a Mach–Zehnder-Type Internal-State Atom Interferometer in Sodium Spinor BEC. Photonics 2026, 13, 135. https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics13020135

AMA Style

Jian J, Zhao Z, Zhang Q, Wang S, Liu W, Wu J, Li Y, Ma J. Experimental Realization of a Mach–Zehnder-Type Internal-State Atom Interferometer in Sodium Spinor BEC. Photonics. 2026; 13(2):135. https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics13020135

Chicago/Turabian Style

Jian, Jun, Zhufang Zhao, Quanxin Zhang, Shunxiang Wang, Wenliang Liu, Jizhou Wu, Yuqing Li, and Jie Ma. 2026. "Experimental Realization of a Mach–Zehnder-Type Internal-State Atom Interferometer in Sodium Spinor BEC" Photonics 13, no. 2: 135. https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics13020135

APA Style

Jian, J., Zhao, Z., Zhang, Q., Wang, S., Liu, W., Wu, J., Li, Y., & Ma, J. (2026). Experimental Realization of a Mach–Zehnder-Type Internal-State Atom Interferometer in Sodium Spinor BEC. Photonics, 13(2), 135. https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics13020135

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Experimental Realization of a Mach–Zehnder-Type Internal-State Atom Interferometer in Sodium Spinor BEC

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