Mirrors movement-induced equivalent rotation effect in ring laser gyros
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Updated: May 10, 2026

Direct Imaging of Laser-driven Ultrafast Molecular Rotation
Published on: February 4, 2017
Guangfeng Lu1, Zhenfang Fan, Shaomin Hu
1Department of Optoelectronic Engineering, College of Optoelectrics Science and Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China.
Abstract:
In this letter, the relationship between the change of the closed-loop optical path and the movement of two adjacent spherical mirrors in ring laser gyros is investigated by matrix optical approach. When one spherical mirror is pushed forward and the other is pulled backward to maintain the total length of the closed-loop optical path constant, an equivalent rotation of the closed-loop optical path is found for the first time. Both numerical simulations and experimental results show the equivalent rotation rate is proportional to the velocities of the mirrors' movement.
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