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Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics

Observation of Kapitza–Dirac Diffraction in Atomic Lithium Gas Using Bragg’s Scattering

V V Baturo, Vyacheslav Afanasievich Vinogradov, M. V. Platonova, I. V. Yukhnovets, Andrei V. Turlapov

Published Aug 1, 2023• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract A short-lived density grating is produced in a gas of lithium atoms. The gas is preliminarily cooled in a magnetooptical trap. The grating is formed due to diffraction of atoms on a standing light wave. The grating is observed from Bragg’s scattering of light from it. This method of formation and observation over the grating can be used in a lithium-based atomic interferometer.

DOI
10.1134/s1063776123080010

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Abstract A short-lived density grating is produced in a gas of lithium atoms. The gas is preliminarily cooled in a magnetooptical trap. The grating is formed due to diffraction of atoms on a standing light wave. The grating is observed from Bragg’s scattering of light from it. This method of formation and observation over the grating can be used in a lithium-based atomic interferometer.
Abstract In their famous 1927 experiment, Davisson and Germer observed1 the diffraction of electrons by a periodic material structure, so showing that electrons can behave like waves. Shortly afterwards, Kapitza2 and Dirac3 predicted that electrons should also be diffracted by a standing light wave4. This Kapitza–Dirac effect is analogous to the diffraction of light by a grating, but with the roles of the wave and matter reversed. The electron and the light grating interact extremely weakly, via the ‘ponderomotive potential’5, so attempts to measure the Kapitza–Dirac effect had to wait for the development of the laser. The idea6 that the underlying interaction with light is resonantly enhanced for electrons in an atom led to the observation7 that atoms could be diffracted by a standing wave of light. Deflection of electrons by high-intensity laser light, which is also a consequence of the Kapitza–Dirac effect, has also been demonstrated8. But the coherent interference that characterizes wave diffraction has not hitherto been observed9, 10. Here we report the diffraction of free electrons from a standing light wave—a realization of the Kapitza–Dirac effect as originally proposed.