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arXiv:2102.06978

Matter-wave phase operators for quantum atom optics: On the possibility of experimental verification

Kingshuk Adhikary, Subhanka Mal, Abhik Kumar Saha, Bimalendu Deb

Published Feb 13, 2021• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

In early 90's Mandel and coworkers performed an experiment \cite{mandel} to examine the significance of quantum phase operators by measuring the phase between two optical fields. We show that this type of quantum mechanical phase measurement is possible for matter-waves of ultracold atoms in a double well. In the limit of low number of atoms quantum and classical phases are drastically different. However, in the large particle number limit, they are quite similar. We assert that the matter-wave counterpart of the experiment \cite{mandel} is realizable with the evolving technology of atom optics.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2102.06978

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In early 90's Mandel and coworkers performed an experiment \cite{mandel} to examine the significance of quantum phase operators by measuring the phase between two optical fields. We show that this type of quantum mechanical phase measurement is possible for matter-waves of ultracold atoms in a double well. In the limit of low number of atoms quantum and classical phases are drastically different. However, in the large particle number limit, they are quite similar. We assert that the matter-wave counterpart of the experiment \cite{mandel} is realizable with the evolving technology of atom optics.
Abstract Matter-wave interferometer of ultracold atoms with different linear momenta has been extensively studied in theory and experiment. The vortex matter-wave interferometer with different angular momenta is applicable as a quantum sensor for measuring the magnetic field, rotation, geometric phase, etc. Here we report the experimental realization of a vortex matter-wave interferometer by coherently transferring the optical angular momentum to an ultracold Bose condensate. We use the angular interference technique to measure the relative phase of two vortex states. For a lossless interferometer with atoms only populating two spin states, the difference between the relative phases in the two spin states is locked to π. We also prove the robustness of this out-of-phase relation, not sensitive to the angular-momentum difference between two vortex states, constituent of Raman optical fields and expansion of the condensate. The experimental results agree well with the calculation from the unitary evolution of wave packet in quantum mechanics. This work opens a new way to build a quantum sensor based on the vortex matter-wave interference.
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Our operational approach to the problem of identifying dynamical variables to represent the phase, or the sine and cosine of the phase, of a quantum field is reviewed. We start from classical optics and examine what is usually measured to determine the phase difference between two fields. We point out that difficulties in phase measurements exist even in the classical domain, and these difficulties persist when the classical relations are used as guides in the construction of phase operators. We find that different measurement procedures lead naturally to different phase operators, so that there appears to be no one "correct" phase operator. We carry out a series of experiments to measure the phase difference between two fields in various quantum states, and then compare the results with the predictions of our formalism and some other formalisms. We obtain good agreement between experiment and our theoretical approach in every case, so far without exception.
Abstract The past few decades have seen dramatic progress in our ability to manipulate and coherently control matter-waves. Although the duality between particles and waves has been well tested since de Broglie introduced the matter-wave analog of the optical wavelength in 1924, manipulating atoms with a level of coherence that enables one to use these properties for precision measurements has only become possible with our ability to produce atomic samples exhibiting temperatures of only a few millionths of a degree above absolute zero. Since the initial experiments a few decades ago, the field of atom optics has developed in many ways, with both fundamental and applied significance. The exquisite control of matter waves offers the prospect of a new generation of force sensors exhibiting unprecedented sensitivity and accuracy, for applications from navigation and geophysics to tests of general relativity. Thanks to the latest developments in this field, the first commercial products using this quantum technology are now available. In the future, our ability to create large coherent ensembles of atoms will allow us an even more precise control of the matter-wave and the ability to create highly entangled states for non-classical atom interferometry.
The correct description of the phase variable in quantum mechanics is a question rooted in its earliest formulations. The atom mechanics [1] of Bohr and Sommerfeld—the precursor of modern quantum mechanics—ascribes a central role to action-angle variables. However, Heisenberg's matrix mechanics and Schrödinger's wave mechanics are formulated [2] in terms of the canonical variables representing cartesian coordinates and momenta. Stimulated by this work London [3] attempted a reformulation of these theories in the previously favored action-angle variables. However, this attempt failed due to the difficulty in ascribing quantum operators to the angle variables of classical theory. Despite these difficulties London found [4] an operator representation of the complex exponential of these angle variables. The quantum phase of light made its first appearance in Dirac's classic paper [5] on the quantization of the radiation field. In contrast to modern methods, he constructed the annihilation and creation operators for each field mode from the corresponding amplitude and phase operators. Phase and its quantum nature acquired new significance with the development of lasers in the early sixties: theoretical investigations highlighted significant problems with Dirac's original proposal for the phase operator. A particularly elegant illustration of the difficulty was given by Louisell [6] in 1963. The advent of phase sensitive quantum noise as demonstrated experimentally in the production and detection of squeezed light [7] has created a new wave of interest in the nature of quantum optical phase leading to the discovery of the hermitian optical phase operator [8]. There has followed an explosion of theoretical activity in this area stimulating fresh experimental investigations. In preparing this special issue we have attempted to present the current state of this active and rapidly moving field. We have arranged the papers into what we hope is a coherent representation of the field. The first papers give a historical perspective and overview of current thinking. The two recent experimental investigations which follow are intimately connected to the phase space description of quantum mechanics based on quasi-probability distributions. The representa tion of phase via phase space and its connection with phase-dependent measurements and the phase operator are addressed in the next section. Some more formal considerations pertinent to phase are presented in the following section. Gravitational wave detection and optical communication have motivated the study of the limits of phase noise. Some recent investigations on such optimal phase states are presented. The issue concludes with two papers discussing the significance of phase in light-matter interactions. In concluding we express our gratitude to the authors of the papers in this volume for their efforts in preparing their high quality presentations.