Atom manipulation using atomic de Broglie waves

V. O. Vitkovsky, Leonid E. Kon’kov, Sergei V Prants

Andrey V. Turlapov, Alexey Tonyushkin, Tycho Sleator

We have demonstrated the Talbot-Lau effect for atomic de Broglie waves in the time domain. This effect is based on Fresnel diffraction of matter waves from an incoherent source. In the experiment, de Broglie waves of atoms in a particular internal state have been manipulated and the resulting density directly imaged by resonant optical fields. These experiments allow us to probe the quantum dynamics of the atomic center of mass. We have also used this effect to create patterns in the density of the atoms with period as small as $1∕10$ of the optical wavelength, demonstrating the potential application of this technique for atom nanofabrication.

Wanyue Xiao, Cheng‐ping Huang

Metasurfaces have been employed to control the electromagnetic and acoustic waves. We suggest that the quantum particles can be manipulated with a de Broglie wave metasurface. The effect was achieved by using the dielectric films milled with subwavelength slits, which behave as the quantum meta-atoms with an effective potential energy. The calculations show that \ensuremath{\sim}100% transmission of de Broglie waves may appear in certain conditions. Moreover, by tuning the effective potential of the slits, a full 360\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} coverage of transmission phase is attainable. With a carefully designed annular metasurface, highly efficient and subwavelength focusing of de Broglie waves has been theoretically demonstrated. Our work may render a way to manipulate quantum particles.

J. X. Zheng-Johansson, Pär I. Johansson

P. D. Featonby, C. L. Webb, R. M. Lake +4 more

Atom interferometers provide a unique way in which to study atomic de Broglie waves. A number of atom interferometers have now been developed which demonstrate the wave nature of atoms and these have been used for various precision measurements [1], Many of these interferometers use light forces to manipulate the de Broglie waves.