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arXiv:2403.08353 · The European Physical Journal D

A continuous beam monochromator for matter waves

Johannes Fiedler, Bodil Holst

Published Apr 1, 2024• 2 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract Atom and, of late, molecule interferometers find application in both the crucible of fundamental research and industrial pursuits. A prevalent methodology in the construction of atom interferometers involves the utilisation of gratings fashioned from laser beams. While this approach imparts commendable precision, it is hampered by its incapacity to attain exceedingly short wavelengths and its dependence on intricate laser systems for operational efficacy. All applications require the control of matter waves, particularly the particle’s velocity. In this manuscript, we propose a continuous beam monochromator scheme reaching enormously high velocity purification with speed ratios in the order of $$10^3$$ 10 3 based on atom-surface diffraction. Beyond these high purifications, the proposed scheme simplifies the application by reducing the degree of freedom to a single angle, selecting the wanted particle’s velocity. Graphic abstract

DOI
10.1140/epjd/s10053-024-00829-3

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Abstract Atom and, of late, molecule interferometers find application in both the crucible of fundamental research and industrial pursuits. A prevalent methodology in the construction of atom interferometers involves the utilisation of gratings fashioned from laser beams. While this approach imparts commendable precision, it is hampered by its incapacity to attain exceedingly short wavelengths and its dependence on intricate laser systems for operational efficacy. All applications require the control of matter waves, particularly the particle’s velocity. In this manuscript, we propose a continuous beam monochromator scheme reaching enormously high velocity purification with speed ratios in the order of 10310^3103 10 3 based on atom-surface diffraction. Beyond these high purifications, the proposed scheme simplifies the application by reducing the degree of freedom to a single angle, selecting the wanted particle’s velocity. Graphic abstract
Atom and, more recently, molecule interferometers are used in fundamental research and industrial applications. Most atom interferometers rely on gratings made from laser beams, which can provide high precision, but cannot reach very short wavelengths and require complex laser systems to function. Contrary to this, simple monolithic interferometers cut from single crystals offer (sub) nanometer wavelengths with an extreme level of stability and robustness. Such devices were conceived and demonstrated several decades ago for neutrons and electrons. Here, we propose a monolithic design for a thermal-beam molecule interferometer based on (quantum) reflection. We show, as an example, how a reflective, monolithic interferometer (Mach-Zehnder type) can be realized for a helium beam using $\mathrm{Si}(111)\text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{H}(1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}1)$ surfaces, which have previously been demonstrated to act as very robust and stable diffractive mirrors for neutral helium atoms.
Although interferometry's earliest and most familiar use is with photons, the discovery of matter-wave (deBroglie-wave) interference for electrons demanded the development of quantum mechanics. Since then, matter-wave interferometry has been performed with neutrons, Cooper electron-pairs, and most recently, with whole atoms and diatomic molecules. This talk describes our recent high-flux atom interferometry experiments using the generalized Talbot-vonLau effect. Our interferometer consists of a sequence of three planar vacuum-slit diffraction gratings, microfabricated from silicon nitride membranes. DeBroglie-wave interference fringes are sensed by measuring the transmission of potassium atoms on a hot- wire as a function of grating relative position. Different spatial Fourier components (up to sixth) in the diffraction pattern are resonant in the interferometer at different atomic velocities (i.e., at different wavelengths). When a laser cooled slow atomic beam is incident, various different diffraction patterns are observed as a function of atomic velocity. In an alternative `Heisenberg Microscope' configuration an incident thermal beam produces a velocity average over different fringe Fourier components. AC modulated weak laser light passing through the interferometer interacts selectively with atoms at a specific velocity. The associated fringe pattern is then ac modulated and revealed by its selective destruction.
We discuss the concept of an all-optical and ionizing matter-wave interferometer in the time domain. The proposed setup aims at testing the wave nature of highly massive clusters and molecules, and it will enable new precision experiments with a broad class of atoms, using the same laser system. The propagating particles are illuminated by three pulses of a standing ultraviolet laser beam, which detaches an electron via efficient single-photon absorption. Optical gratings may have periods as small as 80 nm, leading to wide diffraction angles for cold atoms and to compact setups even for very massive clusters. Accounting for the coherent and the incoherent parts of the particle–light interaction, we show that the combined effect of phase and amplitude modulation of the matter waves gives rise to a Talbot–Lau-like interference effect with a characteristic dependence on the pulse delay time.
Interference with atomic and molecular matter waves is a rich branch of atomic physics and quantum optics. It started with atom diffraction from crystal surfaces and the separated oscillatory fields technique used in atomic clocks. Atom interferometry is now reaching maturity as a powerful art with many applications in modern science. In this review the basic tools for coherent atom optics are described including diffraction by nanostructures and laser light, three-grating interferometers, and double wells on atom chips. Scientific advances in a broad range of fields that have resulted from the application of atom interferometers are reviewed. These are grouped in three categories: (i) fundamental quantum science, (ii) precision metrology, and (iii) atomic and molecular physics. Although some experiments with Bose-Einstein condensates are included, the focus of the review is on linear matter wave optics, i.e., phenomena where each single atom interferes with itself.
We describe the state of the art in preparing, manipulating and detecting coherent molecular matter. We focus on experimental methods for handling the quantum motion of compound systems from diatomic molecules to clusters or biomolecules.Molecular quantum optics offers many challenges and innovative prospects: already the combination of two atoms into one molecule takes several well-established methods from atomic physics, such as for instance laser cooling, to their limits. The enormous internal complexity that arises when hundreds or thousands of atoms are bound in a single organic molecule, cluster or nanocrystal provides a richness that can only be tackled by combining methods from atomic physics, chemistry, cluster physics, nanotechnology and the life sciences.We review various molecular beam sources and their suitability for matter-wave experiments. We discuss numerous molecular detection schemes and give an overview over diffraction and interference experiments that have already been performed with molecules or clusters.Applications of de Broglie studies with composite systems range from fundamental tests of physics up to quantum-enhanced metrology in physical chemistry, biophysics and the surface sciences.Nanoparticle quantum optics is a growing field, which will intrigue researchers still for many years to come. This review can, therefore, only be a snapshot of a very dynamical process.
An atom interferometer is a ubiquitous tool for measuring fundamental constants and inertial sensing. While it has been extremely useful in measuring inertial rotations, the fine-structure constant, gravity gradients, and local gravity, the measurement process lacks the ability to probe continuously due to its single-shot nature. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate the diffraction of an atom laser in the Raman-Nath regime, a key step towards the development of an atom-laser-based interferometer. The diffraction orders can be precisely controlled, and momenta up to $\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}18\ensuremath{\hbar}k$ can be imparted to the atom laser. We form the ``atom laser'' by outcoupling a quasicontinuous beam of coherent atoms from a reservoir of 87Rb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb Bose-Einstein condensate lasting up to 400 ms. This atom laser then interacts with a grating formed by a standing wave of far-detuned laser light. By controlling the interaction time, the strength of diffraction into various orders can be controlled. Such diffraction would allow for the construction of an atom-interferometer to probe changes in physical environments continuously up to a few hundred milliseconds.