PRECISION ATOM INTERFEROMETRY

The basic physical principles behind atom interferometers based on opt ical pulses of light are summarized. This method of atom interferometr y is based on measurements in the time and frequency domain and is an inherently precise measurement technique. After a brief discussion of some of the important technical requirements for good fringe accuracy and visibility, rye describe an interferometer that has measured the a cceleration of an atom due to gravity with a resolution better than on e part in 10(10). The project that the absolute accuracy of our measur ement will be of the order of a few parts in 10(9). The also describe an interferometer experiment that measures the recoil energy shift of an atom when it absorbs a photon. When combined with the value of the Rydberg constant and the mass ratios M-Cs/m(p) and m(p)/m(e), one can obtain a value for a, the fine structure constant. Currently, we have an experimental resolution Delta alpha/alpha similar to 10(-8) after t wo hours of integration time and are studying the systematic effects t hat affect the measurement.