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arXiv · 2606.11747

Ambiguity-Free Inertial Measurement with Multi-Wavelength Atom Interferometry

Abstract

White-light interferometry enables ambiguity-free localization by synthesizing interference envelopes from multiple optical wavelengths, but no analogous capability has been realized for coherent matter waves. Here we report the first experimental demonstration of multi-wavelength atom interferometry, establishing the matter-wave counterpart of white-light interferometry. By exploiting counter-propagating atomic beams as multi-wavelength matter wave sources and synthesizing interference envelopes from their spectral components, we realize inertial measurements based on envelope localization rather than conventional fringe-phase estimation. The resulting multi-scale interferometric response provides ambiguity-free operation, a well-defined rotational scale factor, and reduced sensitivity to initial phase bias. As a proof of principle, we demonstrate simultaneous dual-axis rotation and acceleration sensing and directly resolve the phase ambiguity that fundamentally limits conventional open-loop atom interferometers. We further measure the Earth's rotation with a relative error of 4.3% and a long-term stability of 93 ppm at an averaging time of 15,000 s. Our results establish multi-wavelength atom interferometry as a new paradigm for coherent matter-wave sensing, extending the principles of white-light interferometry to atom optics and opening new opportunities for inertial sensing, geodesy, precision metrology, and inertial navigation.

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BibTeXRIS

Wei-Chen Jia, Yue Xin, Ke Shen, Yan-Ying Feng. 2026-06-10. Ambiguity-Free Inertial Measurement with Multi-Wavelength Atom Interferometry. https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.11747

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