Abstract
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 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.
- Received 22 August 2012
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.230401
© 2012 American Physical Society
Viewpoint
Matter-Wave Self-Interferometry
Published 3 December 2012
The demonstration of a single-particle interferometer opens the door to a number of applications, from investigations of gravity to surface impact physics.
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