Momentum transfer to atoms by a standing light wave: Transition from diffraction to diffusion

Gould, Phillip L.; Martin, Peter; Ruff, George A.; Stoner, R. E.; Picqué, J. L.; Pritchard, David E.

doi:10.1103/physreva.43.585

Cited by 68 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Consequently, an important consideration in atom interferometry is a large spatial splitting of the atomic wave function. In previous experiments coherent atomic-beam splitters were realized by diffraction from microstructures [2,3] or an optical standing wave [4], ;-:/2 laser pulses [5], stimulated Raman transitions [6] and the optical Stern-Gerlach effect [7].…”

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confidence: 99%

Proposal for a Magneto-optical Beam Splitter for Atoms

Pfau¹,

Adams²,

Mlynek³

1993

Europhys. Lett.

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PACS. 32.80 -Photon interactions with atoms. P ACS. 42.50 -Quantum optics.Abstract. -In this letter we present a theoretical study of the coherent diffraction of three-level atoms from a light field with a polarization gradient (counterpropagating crossed linearly polarized beams) and a static magnetic field applied parallel to the laser propagation direction. We show that for a particular ratio of the laser field intensity and the magnetic-field strength, there occurs a resonance between the Larmor precession of the magnetic alignment and the Rabi oscillations. On resonance the atomic wave function is diffracted by an approximately triangular optical potential which leads to a very efficient coherent splitting of the atomic beam. The proposed configuration is particularly interesting in relation to atom interferometry, when efficient coherent beam splitters for atoms are required.Introduction. -Atom interferometry has a considerable potential both as a technique for precision measurement and as a means to perfonn fundamental tests of our understanding of quantum theory [1]. For many applications the sensitivity of an interferometer is proportional to the area enclosed by the two paths. Consequently, an important consideration in atom interferometry is a large spatial splitting of the atomic wave function. In previous experiments coherent atomic-beam splitters were realized by diffraction from microstructures [2,3] or an optical standing wave [4], ;-:/2 laser pulses [5], stimulated Raman transitions [6] and the optical Stern-Gerlach effect [7].For microstructures the splitting is inversely proportional to the grating period and therefore limited by microfabrication techniques. The momentum distribution produced by coherent diffraction from a standing light wave has an envelope given by a Bessel function distribution. For this reason, standing-wave diffraction is not an efficient technique for producing a coherent splitting into high-transverse-momentum states. In the case of single-photon excitation or stimulated Raman transitions, the maximum momentum kick imparted to the atom per process is limited to one or two photon momenta (flk), respectively. A larger splitting of order 8ftk was achieved using the optical Stern-Gerlach effect [7]. Another proposed method for an effective beam splitting is based on the adiabatic passage between Zeeman sublevels for multilevel atoms [8].In this paper we report on a new approach to coherently split an atomic beam. We consider the diffraction of atoms in a polarization gradient light field (counterpropagating crossed linearly polarized beams) and a static magnetic field applied parallel to the laser propagation direction (fig. la»). For a particular ratio of the laser intensity and magnetic-field strength, one of the eigenstates of the interaction experiences an approximately triangular potential in the transverse direction resulting in a large, clearly two-peaked splitting in momentum space. The total splitting is proportional to the light-and

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confidence: 99%

Proposal for a Magneto-optical Beam Splitter for Atoms

Pfau¹,

Adams²,

Mlynek³

1993

Europhys. Lett.

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“…The diffracted momentum peaks are further smeared out by spontaneous emission processes [7,8]. Although the optical Stern-Gerlach effect can perform a relatively clean splitting into two components, each of these corresponds to a difFerent internal state [9], making it unsuitable for interferometry.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bichromatic beam splitter for three-level atoms

et al. 1995

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We investigate schemes for the clean splitting of beams of three-level atoms using two standingwave laser fields within an optical cavity. The proposed beam splitter is shown to work for atoms in the A, ladder, and V configurations. For appropriate values of Rabi frequencies and detunings, we obtain a triangular type of potential for the atomic states of interest. As well as modeling the coherent evolution of the systems, we have used quantum Monte Carlo wave-function methods to model the effects of spontaneous emission on the resulting diffraction pattern, finding significant differences between the three configurations.We also investigate the limits of the Raman-Nath approximation for our systems, using the symmetric split-operator technique to include the effects of the kinetic term in the Hamiltonian. We also present the results of calculations in which the split output beams are recombined, demonstrating the expected interference for differently prepared input beams. In comparison with two-level beam splitters using a single standing wave, we obtain a superior splitting, while, in comparison with magneto-optical beam splitters, our system possesses the worthwhile practical advantages of experimental simplicity.

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“…By comparing atomic scattering with optical Bragg scattering [18], we [10,16,17,[19][20][21][22] can develop a condition on initial momentum of the incident atom, viz.…”

Section: Atomic Scattering From Cavity Fieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantum Nondemolition State Measurement via Atomic Scattering in Bragg Regime

Khalique

Saif

2002

J. Phys. Soc. Jpn.

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We suggest a quantum nondemolition scheme to measure a quantized cavity field state using scattering of atoms in general Bragg regime. Our work extends the QND measurement of a cavity field from Fock state, based on first order Bragg deflection [9], to any quantum state based on Bragg deflection of arbitrary order. In addition a set of experimental parameters is provided to perform the experiment within the frame work of the presently available technology.

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Momentum transfer to atoms by a standing light wave: Transition from diffraction to diffusion

Cited by 68 publications

References 21 publications

Proposal for a Magneto-optical Beam Splitter for Atoms

Proposal for a Magneto-optical Beam Splitter for Atoms

Bichromatic beam splitter for three-level atoms

Quantum Nondemolition State Measurement via Atomic Scattering in Bragg Regime

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