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arXiv:2502.01398 · Annalen der Physik

Quantum Interference in Atomic Systems

Sajad Ahmadi, Mohsen Akbari, Shahpoor Saeidian, Ali Motazedifard

Published Jul 9, 2025• 2 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract Quantum interference plays a central role in the realm of quantum particles, revealing their wave‐like nature and probabilistic behavior. It relies on the concept of superposition, where the probability amplitudes of different processes that contribute to the given phenomenon interfere with each other. When combined, their phases can interfere either constructively or destructively. Quantum interference manifests in three distinct forms: optical interference, arising from the interaction of light waves and forming the basis for technologies such as lasers and optical filters; interference via atoms, which involves manipulating atomic states to control light–matter interactions and enables techniques like Stimulated Raman Adiabatic Passage and Electromagnetically Induced Transparency in quantum information processing; and interference of atoms with themselves, in which the matter waves of single atoms interfere with each other, as employed in precision measurements such as atom interferometry–a crucial tool for applications in quantum mechanics and precision navigation. These diverse forms of quantum interference have profound implications for numerous scientific disciplines, demonstrating that interference can involve particles beyond just photons.

DOI
10.1002/andp.202500094

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Abstract Quantum interference plays a central role in the realm of quantum particles, revealing their wave‐like nature and probabilistic behavior. It relies on the concept of superposition, where the probability amplitudes of different processes that contribute to the given phenomenon interfere with each other. When combined, their phases can interfere either constructively or destructively. Quantum interference manifests in three distinct forms: optical interference, arising from the interaction of light waves and forming the basis for technologies such as lasers and optical filters; interference via atoms, which involves manipulating atomic states to control light–matter interactions and enables techniques like Stimulated Raman Adiabatic Passage and Electromagnetically Induced Transparency in quantum information processing; and interference of atoms with themselves, in which the matter waves of single atoms interfere with each other, as employed in precision measurements such as atom interferometry–a crucial tool for applications in quantum mechanics and precision navigation. These diverse forms of quantum interference have profound implications for numerous scientific disciplines, demonstrating that interference can involve particles beyond just photons.
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.
Summary form only given. The superposition principle is at the heart of quantum mechanics and plays the central role in interference phenomena in quantum mechanics. Quantum interference differs from classical interference because of particle nature of light. In a quantum mechanical picture, interference occurs because there are indistinguishable ways of an event to occur. Whenever which-path information is given to the system, interference disappears. We have experimentally demonstrated that two-photon interference occurs for biphoton amplitudes arising from two well-separated pump pulses.
Our ability to manipulate the coherence properties of light has been at the heart of many of the most important scientific and technological innovations of this century. There can hardly be a home in this country that does not possess a laser in the form of a compact disc player or a CDROM. When we talk on the phone, or send messages on the Internet, there is a high probability that our message will be encoded by a laser into pulses of light to be passed through optical fibres. In the last few years physicists have been discovering that it is possible to control the coherence properties of atoms, and are now developing tools analogous to those which have been developed to take advantage of the coherence properties of light. In the next decade we can look forward to seeing the application of lasers, fibres, mirrors and waveguides for atoms. Already we have been able to construct interferometry experiments using beams of atoms and these have proved to be extremely sensitive measurement devices, allowing us to test physical theories and measure fundamental constants to a level of precision not previously possible. Will these developing technologies ever be as ubiquitous as their optical forebears? In this paper we discuss the anticipated uses of this technology for both fundamental science and industrial applications. Starting from an explanation of the meaning of coherence and a comparison of the properties of photons and atoms, we describe the development of the science of atom optics. The tortuous route towards the great achievement of producing a Bose–Einstein condensate is described, and we explain why this is the most important step towards a laser–like source of atoms. Numerous other optical elements for atoms have been built or are on the drawing board, and we describe how these may be used to manipulate atoms with a precision that has never before been achieved, and look ahead to what we can learn about physics using these tools and at how they can be put to practical use.
Electromagnetically induced transparency suppresses optical absorption through destructive interference, playing a central role in light-matter interaction and quantum information science. We report matter-wave induced transparency, where atomic collisional interactions induce transmission through a lossy molecular potential for the incident atomic scattering waves. Using cesium Bose-Einstein condensates and modulation-induced Feshbach resonances, we realize a three-level atom-molecule coupled system with unprecedented flexibility. Under the dark state condition, a narrow and tunable transparency window appears within a broad dissipative collisional resonance. The transparency window linewidth is controlled by modulation-induced coupling. And scattering pathways are selectable via multifrequency Floquet modulation. These results establish an interference-based route for exploring programmable nonequilibrium and non-Hermitian physics, steering quantum chemistry and precision measurements.
Optical interference is regarded as a classical phenomenon and is usually completely described in classical terms, in which optical fields are represented by classical waves. Does it mean that optical interference, which is fundamentally ascribable to the phenomenon of a superposition of wave amplitudes, cannot be applied to test quantum phenomena? The superposition principle is at the heart of quantum physics and one could expect that it should distinguish the quantum nature of light from thewave nature. Our experience based on extensive theoretical analysis and experimental observations shows that classical and quantum theories of optical interference readily explain the presence of an interference pattern resulting from the first-order coherence. However, there are interference effects involving the higher order (second-order) coherence that distinguish the quantum (photon) nature of light from the wave nature. Quantum interference has recently returned to prominence because of its utility in manipulating spontaneous emission and other radiative properties of atomic systems. In this chapter, we present elementary concepts and definitions of both the classical and quantum theory of optical interference and discuss similarities and differences between these two approaches [80].
Atomic coherence is the interaction process between light and atoms, that is one or more coherent fields couple the different atomic states and cause the quantum interference between the different transition channels. Atomic coherence has led to many interesting and unexpected consequences, such as the Hanle effects, electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), coherence population trapping (CPT), stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP), spontaneous emission control, resonant enhancement of optical nonlinearity, slow and superluminal light propagation, quantum light storage, etc. In which, light storage based on atomic coherence plays an important role in the coherent control of light pulse information. In this chapter, we present some previous works on atomic coherence and optical storage. Firstly, we present the storage and recovery of light pulse based on F-STIRAP, which is fundamentally different from the conventional EIT-based process. Secondly, we present the applications of light storage based on EIT in a Pr3+:Y2SiO5 crystal, which includes the erasure of stored optical information, all-optical routing by light storage, and the coherent control of double light pulses. At last, we propose theoretically and demonstrate experimentally a method to control the atomic coherence by a STIRAP or F-STIRAP process.