Specular Reflection of Matter Waves from a Rough Mirror

Savalli, V.; Stevens, D.R.; Estève, Jérôme; Featonby, P. D.; Josse, Vincent; Westbrook, Nathalie; Westbrook, Christoph I; Aspect, Alain

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.88.250404

Cited by 26 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The reflection of atoms with relatively high kinetic energy has been demonstrated using steep potentials realised with evanescent waves [282,283,284,285,286,287] and periodic magnetic surfaces [288,289,290,291,292,293,294,295,296,297,298]. These elements however critically depend on their surface roughness, which often hinders a purely specular reflection.…”

Section: Mirrors and Beamsplittersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physics with coherent matter waves

Bongs¹,

Sengstock²

2004

Rep. Prog. Phys.

178

190

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Abstract. This review discusses progress in the new field of coherent matter waves, in particular with respect to Bose-Einstein condensates. We give a short introduction to Bose-Einstein condensation and the theoretical description of the condensate wavefunction. We concentrate on the coherence properties of this new type of matter wave as a basis for fundamental physics and applications. The main part of this review treats various measurements and concepts in the physics with coherent matter waves. In particular we present phase manipulation methods, atom lasers, nonlinear atom optics, optical elements, interferometry and physics in optical lattices. We give an overview of the state of the art in the respective fields and discuss achievements and challenges for the future. § To whom correspondence should be addressed (sengstock@physnet.uni-hamburg.de) Physics with coherent matter waves 2

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Section: Mirrors and Beamsplittersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physics with coherent matter waves

Bongs¹,

Sengstock²

2004

Rep. Prog. Phys.

178

190

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“…The main problems are the facts that (i) the density of atoms from the MOT is too low and (ii) the interaction time during the reflection is very short which results in a high shot noise. Other problems with reflection experiments are random scattering due to surface roughness [15,16,17]. We are able to circumvent these problems by using BECs which have four orders of magnitude larger densities and by keeping the atoms in a trap, which allows for adjusting the interaction time.…”

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confidence: 99%

Towards surface quantum optics with Bose–Einstein condensates in evanescent waves

et al. 2009

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We present a surface trap which allows for studying the coherent interaction of ultracold atoms with evanescent waves. The trap combines a magnetic Joffe trap with a repulsive evanescent dipole potential. The position of the magnetic trap can be controlled with high precision which makes it possible to move ultracold atoms to the surface of a glass prism in a controlled way. The optical potential of the evanescent wave compensates for the strong attractive van der Waals forces and generates a potential barrier at only a few hundred nanometers from the surface. The trap is tested with 87 Rb Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC), which are stably positioned at distances from the surfaces below one micrometer.

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“…The apparatus is the same as that used in Ref. [10], and the laser pulse sequence is very similar. We refer the reader to Fig.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a previous paper [10], we reported measurements of the velocity distribution of atoms from an atom mirror and measured the fraction of specularly reflected atoms, as well as the transverse velocity profile of the diffusely reflected ones. The resolution of this measurement however, was insufficient to study the lineshape of the specularly reflected distribution -a crucial aspect characterizing the effect of the mirror on the coherence.…”

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An atom interferometer for measuring loss of coherence from an atom mirror

et al. 2004

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Abstract. We describe an atom interferometer to study the coherence of atoms reflected from an evanescent wave mirror. The interferometer is sensitive to the loss of phase coherence induced by the defects in the mirror. The results are consistent with and complementary to recent measurements of specular reflection. Using either dipole forces or magnetic fields, it is not difficult to make a "mirror", i.e. a steep reflecting barrier, strong enough to reflect atoms with velocities of order 1 m/s, the velocity acquired in ∼ 5 cm of free fall. Both dipole and magnetic force mirrors can be coupled with a high quality substrate to guarantee a well defined overall flatness or curvature, thus giving rise to the evanescent wave mirror [2,3], or to the magnetic mirror [4]. It is now well known however, that a fundamental difficulty of atomic mirrors is loss of coherence due to various sources of roughness in the reflecting potential [5,6,7,8]. The extremely small de Broglie wavelength associated with the typical velocities (λ dB ∼ 5 nm in the case of Rb at 1 m/s), imposes severe constraints on the small scale roughness of the substrate -it must be much better than λ dB /2π [9] before the reflection can be considered specular, and therefore coherent. This experiment is the first in which an atomic mirror is used within an interferometer and as such is the first true demonstration of its coherence. PACSIn a previous paper [10], we reported measurements of the velocity distribution of atoms from an atom mirror and measured the fraction of specularly reflected atoms, as well as the transverse velocity profile of the diffusely reflected ones. The resolution of this measurement however, was insufficient to study the lineshape of the specularly reflected distribution -a crucial aspect characterizing the effect of the mirror on the coherence. Here we discuss a a The Laboratoire Charles Fabry is part of the Federation LUMAT, FR2764 du CNRS. related measurement which is able to focus in more detail on the shape of the specularly reflected fraction. We have developed an atom interferometer which gives information complementary to velocity distribution measurements. We observe fringes whose contrast as a function of path difference corresponds to the coherence function of the atomic mirror, in other words to the Fourier transform of the transverse velocity distribution induced by the mirror. This measurement is particularly sensitive to the long distance behavior of the coherence function or to the velocity distribution in the specular peak, where direct velocity distribution measurements are impractical. Narrower velocity selection implies fewer atoms and worse signal to noise. The signal to noise in the interferometric technique is practically independent of the velocity resolution. It is the analog of Fourier transform spectroscopy with de Broglie waves.

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Specular Reflection of Matter Waves from a Rough Mirror

Cited by 26 publications

References 17 publications

Physics with coherent matter waves

Physics with coherent matter waves

Towards surface quantum optics with Bose–Einstein condensates in evanescent waves

An atom interferometer for measuring loss of coherence from an atom mirror

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