Comparison of two absorption imaging methods to detect cold atoms in magnetic trap

Two methods of absorption imaging to detect cold atoms in a magnetic trap are implemented for a high-precision cold atom interferometer. In the first method, a probe laser which is in resonance with a cycle transition frequency is used to evaluate the quantity and distribution of the atom sample. In the second method, the probe laser is tuned to an open transition frequency, which stimulates a few and constant number of photons per atom. This method has a shorter interaction time and results in absorption images which are not affected by the magnetic field and the light field. We make a comparison of performance between these two imaging methods in the sense of parameters such as pulse duration, light intensity, and magnetic field strength. The experimental results show that the second method is more reliable when detecting the quantity and density profiles of the atoms. These results fit well to the theoretical analysis.