Measurement of the Wigner function of an ensemble of helium atoms

Tilman Pfau, Christian Kurtsiefer, J. Mlynek

Ashfaq H. Khosa, Shi‐Yao Zhu, Muhammad Suhail Zubairy

M. Gil de Oliveira, Alfredo M. Ozorio de Almeida

Tilman Pfau, Christian Kurtsiefer

We report on double-slit interference of the matter waves of metastable helium atoms in the intermediate regime between Fresnel and Fraunhofer diffraction. From these diffraction data, we partially reconstruct the Wigner function of the atomic motional state immediately behind the double slit by the inverse Radon transformation technique. We were able to observe negative parts of the Wigner function, making evident the quantum nature of the atomic centre-of-mass motion.

H. Dessano, R. G. G. Amorim, S. C. Ulhoa +1 more

The Schrödinger equation in phase space is used to calculate the Wigner function for the Helium atom in the approximation of a system of two oscillators. Dissipation effect is analysed and the non-classicality of the state is studied by the non-classicality indicator of the Wigner function, which is calculated as a function of the dissipation parameter.

Antoine Royer