dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaObservation of atom wave phase shifts induced by van der Waals atom-surface interactions
| Authors | John D. Perreault, Alexander D. Cronin |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0505160 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0505160 |
| DOI | 10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.133201 |
Abstract
The development of nanotechnology and atom optics relies on understanding how atoms behave and interact with their environment. Isolated atoms can exhibit wave-like (coherent) behaviour with a corresponding de Broglie wavelength and phase which can be affected by nearby surfaces. Here an atom interferometer is used to measure the phase shift of Na atom waves induced by the walls of a 50 nm wide cavity. To our knowledge this is the first direct measurement of the de Broglie wave phase shift caused by atom-surface interactions. The magnitude of the phase shift is in agreement with that predicted by quantum electrodynamics for a non-retarded van der Waals interaction. This experiment also demonstrates that atom-waves can retain their coherence even when atom-surface distances are as small as 10 nm.
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"abstract": "The development of nanotechnology and atom optics relies on understanding how\natoms behave and interact with their environment. Isolated atoms can exhibit\nwave-like (coherent) behaviour with a corresponding de Broglie wavelength and\nphase which can be affected by nearby surfaces. Here an atom interferometer is\nused to measure the phase shift of Na atom waves induced by the walls of a 50\nnm wide cavity. To our knowledge this is the first direct measurement of the de\nBroglie wave phase shift caused by atom-surface interactions. The magnitude of\nthe phase shift is in agreement with that predicted by quantum electrodynamics\nfor a non-retarded van der Waals interaction. This experiment also demonstrates\nthat atom-waves can retain their coherence even when atom-surface distances are\nas small as 10 nm.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0505160",
"authors": [
"John D. Perreault",
"Alexander D. Cronin"
],
"categories": [
"physics.atom-ph"
],
"doi": "10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.133201",
"title": "Observation of atom wave phase shifts induced by van der Waals atom-surface interactions",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0505160"
},
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