Sub-Poissonian Number Differences in Four-Wave Mixing of Matter Waves

Journal Article · Fri Nov 05 04:00:00 EDT 2010 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVLETT.105.190402· OSTI ID:21541668

Jaskula, J -C; Bonneau, M; Partridge, G B; Krachmalnicoff, V; Aspect, A; Boiron, D; Westbrook, C I ^[1]; Deuar, P ^[2]; Kheruntsyan, K V ^[3]

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1. Laboratoire Charles Fabry de l'Institut d'Optique, CNRS, Univ Paris-Sud, Campus Polytechnique RD128 91127 Palaiseau (France)
2. Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Aleja Lotnikow 32/46, 02-668 Warsaw (Poland)
3. ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum-Atom Optics, School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072 (Australia)

We demonstrate sub-Poissonian number differences in four-wave mixing of Bose-Einstein condensates of metastable helium. The collision between two Bose-Einstein condensates produces a scattering halo populated by pairs of atoms of opposing velocities, which we divide into several symmetric zones. We show that the atom number difference for opposing zones has sub-Poissonian noise fluctuations, whereas that of nonopposing zones is well described by shot noise. The atom pairs produced in a dual number state are well adapted to sub-shot-noise interferometry and studies of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen-type nonlocality tests.

• OSTI ID: 21541668
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Journal Name: Physical Review Letters Journal Issue: 19 Vol. 105; ISSN 0031-9007; ISSN PRLTAO
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
ATOMS
BOSE-EINSTEIN CONDENSATION
COLLISIONS
ELEMENTS
FLUCTUATIONS
FLUIDS
FREQUENCY MIXING
GASES
HELIUM
INTERACTIONS
INTERFEROMETRY
NONMETALS
PAIR PRODUCTION
PARTICLE PRODUCTION
RARE GASES
SCATTERING
VARIATIONS