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Time-resolved detection of atoms diffracted from a standing light wave

  • Atom and Neutron Optics
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Abstract

We present a time-resolved experimental observation of the diffraction of metastable helium atoms from a nearly resonant standing light wave. The application of a time-resolved detection technique and a pulsed source allows to resolve high diffraction orders, which are populated in the atom-light interaction. Furthermore, the rms momentum transfer from the light field on the atom as a function of the interaction time is investigated. Future applications of this technique may be the detailed investigation of the motion of atoms in standing light waves and the detection of correlations between spontaneously emitted photons and atoms.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Konstanz, Universitätsstrasse 10, D-78464, Konstanz, Germany

    Ch. Kurtsiefer, T. Pfau, C. R. Ekstrom & J. Mlynek

Authors
  1. Ch. Kurtsiefer
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  2. T. Pfau
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  3. C. R. Ekstrom
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  4. J. Mlynek
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Dedicated to H. Walter on the occasion of his 60th birthday

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Kurtsiefer, C., Pfau, T., Ekstrom, C.R. et al. Time-resolved detection of atoms diffracted from a standing light wave. Appl. Phys. B 60, 229–232 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01135866

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01135866

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