Splitting matter waves using an optimized standing-wave light-pulse sequence
- Department of Physics and Center for Ultra Cold Atoms, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 (United States)
- Department of Physics, University of Colorado, and JILA, National Institute of Standards and Technology and University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0440 (United States)
In a recent experiment (Wang et al., e-print cond-mat/0407689), it was observed that a sequence of two standing-wave square pulses can split a Bose-Einstein Condensate at rest into {+-}2({Dirac_h}/2{pi})k diffraction orders with almost 100% efficiency. By truncating the Raman-Nath equations to a two-state model, we provide an intuitive picture that explains this double-square-pulse beam-splitter scheme. We further show it is possible to optimize a standing-wave multiple-square-pulse sequence to efficiently diffract an atom at rest to a symmetric superposition of {+-}2n({Dirac_h}/2{pi})k diffraction orders with n>1. The approach is considered to be qualitatively different from the traditional light-pulse schemes in the Bragg or the Raman-Nath region, and can be extended to more complex atomic optical elements that produce various tailored output momentum states from a cold atom source.
- OSTI ID:
- 20653326
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review. A, Vol. 71, Issue 4; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevA.71.043602; (c) 2005 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1050-2947
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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