Observation of free-space single-atom matter wave interference

We observe matter wave interference of a single cesium atom in free fall. The interferometer is an absolute sensor of acceleration and we show that this technique is sensitive to forces at the level of 3.2×10(-27) N with a spatial resolution at the micron scale. We observe the build up of the interf...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPhysical review letters Vol. 109; no. 23; p. 230401
Main Authors Parazzoli, L P, Hankin, A M, Biedermann, G W
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 07.12.2012
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Summary:We observe matter wave interference of a single cesium atom in free fall. The interferometer is an absolute sensor of acceleration and we show that this technique is sensitive to forces at the level of 3.2×10(-27) N with a spatial resolution at the micron scale. We observe the build up of the interference pattern one atom at a time in a free-space interferometer where the mean path separation extends far beyond the coherence length of the atom. Using the coherence length of the atom wave packet as a metric, we directly probe the velocity distribution and measure the temperature of a single atom in free fall.
ISSN:1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.230401