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RESEARCH PRODUCT
Theory and experimental verification of Kapitza–Dirac–Talbot–Lau interferometry
Lucia HackermüllerLucia HackermüllerIlya V. GoldtKlaus HornbergerKlaus HornbergerStefan GerlichStefan NimmrichterMarkus ArndtHendrik UlbrichtHendrik UlbrichtOlga BoltalinaOlga Boltalinasubject
PhysicsQuantum PhysicsPhotonDirac (software)Phase (waves)FOS: Physical sciencesGeneral Physics and Astronomy02 engineering and technologyGrating021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology01 natural sciencesInterferometryDipoleQuantum mechanicsPhase space0103 physical sciencesPhysics - Atomic and Molecular ClustersQuantum Physics (quant-ph)Atomic and Molecular Clusters (physics.atm-clus)010306 general physics0210 nano-technologyQuantumdescription
Kapitza-Dirac-Talbot-Lau interferometry (KDTLI) has recently been established for demonstrating the quantum wave nature of large molecules. A phase space treatment permits us to derive closed equations for the near-field interference pattern, as well as for the Moire-type pattern that would arise if the molecules were to be treated as classical particles. The model provides a simple and elegant way to account for the molecular phase shifts related to the optical dipole potential as well as for the incoherent effect of photon absorption at the second grating. We present experimental results for different molecular masses, polarizabilities and absorption cross sections using fullerenes and fluorofullerenes and discuss the alignment requirements. Our results with C60 and C70, C60F36 and C60F48 verify the theoretical description to a high degree of precision.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-04-27 | New Journal of Physics |