Young’s interference experiment with light scattered from two atoms

U. Eichmann; J. C. Bergquist; J. J. Bollinger; J. M. Gilligan; W. M. Itano; D. J. Wineland; M. G. Raizen

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.70.2359

Young’s interference experiment with light scattered from two atoms

U. Eichmann, J. C. Bergquist, J. J. Bollinger, J. M. Gilligan, W. M. Itano, D. J. Wineland, and M. G. Raizen

Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 2359 – Published 19 April 1993

Abstract

We report the first observation of interference effects in the light scattered from two trapped atoms. The visibility of the fringes can be explained in the framework of Bragg scattering by a harmonic crystal and simple ‘‘which path’’ considerations of the scattered photons. If the light scattered by the atoms is detected in a polarization-sensitive way, then it is possible to selectively demonstrate either the particle nature or the wave nature of the scattered light.