Atom interferometers typically use the total populations the interferometer's output ports as the signal, but finer spatial structure can contain useful information. We pattern a matter-wave phase profile onto an atomic sample. An interferometer translates the phase into a measurable pattern in the atomic density that we use perform the first direct precision measurement of the 7 Li tune-out wavelength near 671 nm. Expressed as a detuning from the |2S 1/2 , F =2 →|2P 1/2 , F =2 transition, we find 3329.3(1.4) MHz for the tensor-shifted tune out of the |2S 1/2 , F =2, mF =0 state with σ ± light polarization and 3310.1(4.9) MHz for the tune out of the the scalar polarizability. This technique may be generalized for directly sensing spatially varying phase profiles.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.