We provide an analytical description of the dynamics of an atom in an opticallattice using the method of perturbative adiabatic expansion. A preciseunderstanding of the lattice-atom interaction is essential to taking fulladvantage of the promising applications that optical lattices offer in thefield of atom interferometry. One such application is the implementation ofLarge Momentum Transfer (LMT) beam splitters that can potentially providemultiple order of magnitude increases in momentum space separations overcurrent technology. We also propose interferometer geometries where opticallattices are used as waveguides for the atoms throughout the duration of theinterferometer sequence. Such a technique could simultaneously provide amultiple order of magnitude increase in sensitivity and a multiple order ofmagnitude decrease in interferometer size for many applications as compared tocurrent state-of-the-art atom interferometers.
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