Physics
The broad physics goal of this lab is to study gravity using atom interferometry. The following spacetime diagram shows the basic operation of an atom interferometer.
The interferometer consists of a sequence of three pulses: π/2-π-π/2. The first π/2 pulse splits a cloud of ultracold (picoKelvin) atoms into two paths red and blue. The intermediate π pulse acts like a mirror which brings the two paths together. A final π/2 pulse produces an interference in the two paths.