Noise sensitivity of an atomic velocity sensor -: Theoretical and experimental treatment

We use Bloch oscillations to accelerate coherently rubidium atoms. The variation of the velocity induced by this acceleration is an integer number times the recoil velocity due to the absorption of one photon. The measurement of the velocity variation is achieved using two velocity selective Raman pi-pulses: the first pulse transfers atoms from the hyperfine state 5S(1/2), | F = 2, m(F) = 0] to 5S(1/2), | F = 1, mF = 0] into a narrow velocity class. After the acceleration of this selected atomic slice, we apply the second Raman pulse to bring the resonant atoms back to the initial state 5S(1/2), | F = 2, m(F) = 0]. The populations in ( F = 1 and F = 2) are measured separately by using a one-dimensional time-of-flight technique. To plot the final velocity distribution we repeat this procedure by scanning the Raman beam frequency of the second pulse. This two pi-pulses system constitutes then a velocity sensor. Any noise in the relative phase shift of the Raman beams induces an error in the measured velocity. In this paper we present a theoretical and an experimental analysis of this velocity sensor, which take into account the phase fluctuations during the Raman pulses.