Electron Interferometry

John C. H. Spence

Hannes Lichte

Thierry Ruchon, Thomas Remetter, P. Johnsson +4 more

We analyse recent experiments on momentum shearing interferometry of electron wave packets by using an optical analogy with shearing interferometry for optical waves. This analogy offers a convenient point of view to discuss the capabilities and difficulties of this technique used to access the phase of electron wave packets.

FRANZ HASSELBACH, Harald Kiesel, Peter Sonnentag

Louis de Broglie's discovery of the wave nature of matter 80 years ago and the subsequent development of quantum mechanics by Erwin Schrodinger, Werner Heisenberg and Paul Dirac solved many riddles of those days and determined physics of the whole 20th century. Yet, after this long time, matter wave interferometry is as up to date as it was in 1927 when Louis de Broglie's hypothesis was verified, e.g., by Davisson and Germer. Atom interferometry, ion interferometry and Bose-Einstein condensates are today's fascinating applications based on de Broglie's discovery. The focus of the present contribution are Hanbury Brown-Twiss anti-correlations (i.e. interferences between two fermions (electrons)) and the quantitative observation of decoherence by electron biprism interferometry.

Ladislaus Marton