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Journal de Physique II

A longitudinal Stern-Gerlach interferometer : the “beaded” atom

Christian Miniatura, F. Perales, G. Vassilev, J. Reinhardt, Jacques Robert, J. Baudon

Published Apr 1, 1991• 21 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The principle on an atomic interferometer based on the longitudinal Stern-Gerlach effect is given. Possible realizations using beams of metastable rare gas atoms or metastable hydrogen atoms are described. Some examples of phase-objects are discussed and some possible applications are suggested. The atoms coming out of the interferometer exhibit uncommon properties, particulary a permanent multiple localisation regarding the external atomic variables (“beaded” atoms).

DOI
10.1051/jp2:1991177

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The principle on an atomic interferometer based on the longitudinal Stern-Gerlach effect is given. Possible realizations using beams of metastable rare gas atoms or metastable hydrogen atoms are described. Some examples of phase-objects are discussed and some possible applications are suggested. The atoms coming out of the interferometer exhibit uncommon properties, particulary a permanent multiple localisation regarding the external atomic variables (“beaded” atoms).
A general description of atomic interferometers in terms of the scattering operator is given. The action of a longitudinal interferometer on an atom described by an incident polarized wavepacket is shown to be equivalent to a frame transformation, leading to a “beaded” atom. The special case of a pure longitudinal gradient of magnetic field and that of a spatially precessing field are examined. An experiment using metastable hydrogen atoms is presented and the results obtained in both situations mentioned above are discussed. Properties of beaded atoms produced by relatively strong fields (∼10 G) are investigated by means of the intensity diagram of their electrically induced radiative decay.
Delayed-choice experiments have been performed using an atomic Stern-Gerlach interferometer operating with a low-intensity beam of metastable hydrogen atoms. By use of a fast-commutable analyzer, it is possible to modify the operating mode of the interferometer while the atom has already entered the device. Various types of delayed-choice experiments have been carried out to check the standard interpretation of quantum-mechanics. Within the experimental accuracy, our results do not show any discrepancy between permanent and delayed-choice operating modes of the interferometer. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
An atom interferometer using two Stern-Gerlach magnets as polariser and analyser is described. The interferometer was first operated with a thermal beam of ground state potassium atoms. In that case the beam splitters are two radio-frequency zones within a transverse homogeneous magnetic field building a coherent superposition of Zeeman states. Ramsey fringes are obtained by scanning the RF-frequency through the resonance profile. Pulsing the RF power allows to get the time-of-flight distribution of the beam. Atomic interference fringes (``Stern-Gerlach fringes'') are observed when the magnitude of an inhomogeneous magnetic field located in between the beam splitters is scanned. When the inhomogeneous field is also pulsed, the scalar Bohm-Aharonov effect is observed. The use of metastable helium atoms (He*23S) in place of potassium atoms is proposed. In addition to the usual advantages provided by metastable atoms of high internal energy, this atom offers the specific advantage to behave as an ideal spin-one particle. This allows us to greatly simplify the polarisation scheme of the interferometer. Possible applications involving transversally inhomogeneous magnetic fields are given and limitations due to the finite source size and angular aperture are discussed.
A double atom interferometer based upon the Stern-Gerlach method in which the first interferometer acts as a ``nonordinary'' source for the second one is described. Experiments have been carried out with a wide-velocity-distribution beam of metastable hydrogen atoms, using two different operating modes: (i) continuous mode in which the magnitude of the magnetic field in the first interferometer is fixed whereas that of the second one is scanned; (ii) time-of-flight mode in which both magnetic fields are fixed. In the former case lateral interference patterns appear, in the latter one an overmodulation of the time-of-flight distribution is observed. It is predicted that this overmodulation becomes more and more marked as the number of interferometers is increased, leading to a limiting behavior characteristic of a quantum Zeno effect.