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Large frame ring laser gyroscopes are top sensitivity inertial sensors able to measure absolute angular rotation rate below prad s−1 in few seconds. The GINGER project is aiming at directly measuring the Lense–Thirring effect with an 1% precision on an Earth based experiment. GINGER is based on an array of large frame ring laser gyroscopes. The mechanical design of this apparatus requires a micrometric precision in the construction and the geometry must be stabilized in order to keep constant the scale factor of the instrument. The proposed control is based on square cavities, and relies on the length stabilization of the two diagonals, which must be equal at micrometric level. GP2 is the prototype devoted to the scale factor control test. As a first step, the lengths of the diagonals of the ring cavity have been measured through an interferometric technique with a statistical accuracy of some tens of nanometers, and they have been locked to the wavelength of a reference optical standard. Continuous operation has been obtained over more than 12 h, without loss of sensitivity. GP2 is located in a laboratory with standard temperature stabilization, with residual fluctuations of the order of 1 °C. Besides the demonstration of the control effectiveness, the analysis of the Sagnac frequency demonstrates that relative small and low-cost ring lasers (around one meter of side) can also achieve a sensitivity of the order of nrad s−1 in the range 0.01–10 Hz in a standard environment, which is the target sensitivity in many different applications, such as rotational seismology and next generation gravitational waves detectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultra-sensitive ring laser gyroscopes are regarded as potential detectors of the general relativistic frame-dragging effect due to the rotation of the Earth. Our project for this goal is called GINGER (gyroscopes in general relativity), and consists of a ground-based triaxial array of ring lasers aimed at measuring the rotation rate of the Earth with an accuracy of . Such an ambitious goal is now within reach, as large-area ring lasers are very close to the required sensitivity and stability. However, demanding constraints on the geometrical stability of the optical path of the laser inside the ring cavity are required. Thus, we have begun a detailed study of the geometry of an optical cavity in order to find a control strategy for its geometry that could meet the specifications of the GINGER project. As the cavity perimeter has a stationary point for the square configuration, we identify a set of transformations on the mirror positions that allows us to adjust the laser beam steering to the shape of a square. We show that the geometrical stability of a square cavity strongly increases by implementing a suitable system to measure the mirror distances, and that the geometry stabilization can be achieved by measuring the absolute lengths of the two diagonals and the perimeter of the ring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the experimental test of a method for controlling the absolute length of the diagonals of square ring laser gyroscopes. The purpose of this is to actively stabilize the ring cavity geometry and to enhance the rotation sensor stability in order to reach the requirements for the detection of the relativistic Lense–Thirring effect with a ground-based array of optical gyroscopes. The test apparatus consists of two optical cavities 1.32 m in length, reproducing the features of the ring cavity diagonal resonators of large-frame He–Ne ring laser gyroscopes. The proposed measurement technique is based on the use of a single diode laser, injection locked to a frequency stabilized He–Ne/iodine frequency standard, and a single electro-optic modulator. The laser is modulated with a combination of three frequencies, allowing us to lock the two cavities to the same resonance frequency and, at the same time, to determine the cavity free spectral range (FSR). We obtain a stable lock of the two cavities to the same optical frequency reference, providing a length stabilization at the level of 1 part in , and the determination of the two FSRs with a relative precision of ∼2 · 10−7. This is equivalent to an error of on the absolute length difference between the two cavities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the frequency stability performances of a vapor cell Rb clock based on the pulsed optically pumping (POP) technique. The clock has been developed in the frame of a collaboration between INRIM and Leonardo SpA, aiming to realize a space-qualified POP frequency standard. The results here reported were obtained with an engineered physics package, specifically designed for space applications, joint to laboratory-grade optics and electronics. The measured frequency stability expressed in terms of Allan deviation is [Formula: see text] at 1s and achieves the value of [Formula: see text] for integration times of 40000 s (drift removed). This is, to our knowledge, a record result for a vapor-cell frequency standard. In the paper, we show that in order to get this result, a careful stabilization of microwave and laser pulses is required., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

This publisher's note identifies a figure error in Appl. Opt.57, 5844 (2018)APOPAI0003-693510.1364/AO.57.005844.

GINGERino is a large frame laser gyroscope investigating the ground motion in the most inner part of the underground international laboratory of the Gran Sasso, in central Italy. It consists of a square ring laser with a 3.6 m side. Several days of continuous measurements have been collected, with the apparatus running unattended. The power spectral density in the seismic bandwidth is at the level of 10 -10  (rad/s)/Hz. A maximum resolution of 30 prad/s is obtained with an integration time of few hundred seconds. The ring laser routinely detects seismic rotations induced by both regional earthquakes and teleseisms. A broadband seismic station is installed on the same structure of the gyroscope. First analysis of the correlation between the rotational and the translational signal is presented.

He-Ne ring-laser gyroscopes are, at present, the most precise devices for absolute angular velocity measurements. Limitations to their performance come from the nonlinear dynamics of the laser. Following Lamb semiclassical theory, we find a set of critical parameters affecting the time stability of the system. We propose a method for estimating the long-term drift of the laser parameters and for filtering out the laser dynamics effects from the rotation measurement. The parameter estimation procedure, based on the perturbative solutions of the laser dynamics, allows us to apply Kalman filter theory for the estimation of the angular velocity. Results of a comprehensive Monte Carlo simulation and results of a preliminary analysis on experimental data from the ring-laser prototype G-Pisa are shown and discussed.

We describe a system for the compensation of time-dependent stray magnetic fields using a dual channel scalar magnetometer based on nonlinear Faraday rotation in synchronously optically pumped Cs vapor. We detail the active control strategy, with an emphasis on the electronic circuitry, based on a simple phase-locked-loop integrated circuit. The performance and limits of the system developed are tested and discussed. The system was applied to significantly improve the detection of free induction decay signals from protons of remotely magnetized water precessing in an ultralow magnetic field.

G-Pisa is an experiment investigating the possibility of operating a high-sensitivity laser gyroscope with area less than 1 m2 for improving the performances of the mirrors suspensions of the gravitational wave antenna Virgo. The experimental set-up consists of a He-Ne ring laser with a 4-mirror square cavity. The laser is pumped by an RF discharge where the RF oscillator includes the laser plasma to reach a better stability. The contrast of the Sagnac fringes is typically above 50% and a stable regime has been reached with the laser operating in either single mode or multimode. The effect of hydrogen contamination on the laser was also checked. A low-frequency sensitivity, below 1 Hz, in the range of 10(-8)(rad/s)/square root(Hz) has been measured.

We propose a method to control the thermal stability of a sapphire dielectric transducer made with 2 dielectric disks separated by a thin gap and resonating in the whispering gallery (WG) modes of the electromagnetic field. The simultaneous measurement of the frequencies of both a WGH mode and a WGE mode allows one to discriminate the frequency shifts due to gap variations from those due to temperature instability. A simple model, valid in quasi-equilibrium conditions, describes the frequency shift of the 2 modes in terms of 4 tuning parameters. A procedure for their direct measurement is presented.