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Angewandte Chemie International Edition

Matter‐Wave Metrology as a Complementary Tool for Mass Spectrometry

Stefan Gerlich, Michael Gring, Hendrik Ulbricht, Klaus Hornberger, Jens Tüxen, Marcel Mayor, Markus Arndt

Published Jul 15, 2008• 49 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Quantum interferometry can serve as a useful complement to mass spectrometry. The interference visibility (see picture) reveals important information on molecular properties, such as mass and polarizability. The method is applicable to a wide range of molecules, and is particularly valuable for characterizing neutral molecular beams. In particular, fragmentation in the source can be distinguished from molecular dissociation in the detector.

DOI
10.1002/anie.200801942

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Quantum interferometry can serve as a useful complement to mass spectrometry. The interference visibility (see picture) reveals important information on molecular properties, such as mass and polarizability. The method is applicable to a wide range of molecules, and is particularly valuable for characterizing neutral molecular beams. In particular, fragmentation in the source can be distinguished from molecular dissociation in the detector.
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We discuss new de Broglie coherence experiments in a near-field molecule interferometer with a variety of large organic molecules. While de Broglie coherence is to first order only associated with the center-of-mass motion of the diffracted particle, we here investigate the question as to which extent the internal molecular property is relevant for, compatible with or detrimental for maintaining coherence in the translational degree of freedom. External perturbations, such as inhomogeneous external electric fields, may influence the delocalized molecules inside the matter wave interferometer and they allow us to access the molecular polarizabilities, permanent or even fluctuating electric dipole moments. We extract information about the molecular states from the interference phase shifts as well as from the observed dephasing in a Kapitza-Dirac Talbot-Lau-Stark-deflectometer. We discuss the relevance of our experiments with regard to both molecule metrology and the foundations of quantum mechanics, i.e. the preservation of coherence for highly complex particles in external fields.
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.