München 2004 – scientific programme
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Q: Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 33: Poster Pr
äzisionsmessungen und optische Messtechnik
Q 33.1: Poster
Thursday, March 25, 2004, 14:00–16:00, Schellingstr. 3
Photon-to-atom momentum transfer in precision atom interferometry — •Andreas Wicht1, Edina Sarajlic2, and Steven Chu2 — 1Institut für Experimentalphysik, Heinrich-Heine-Universität — 2Stanford University, Department of Physics, Stanford, CA 94305
Precision atom interferometer experiments rely on the precise knowledge of the amount of momentum which is transferred to an atom in a light-atom interaction. In a simple model the light field as well as the external quantum state No−dqposition of the atom are described by plane waves so that the momentum transfer is given by the wave vector of the optical field.
Assuming more realistic conditions we present an analysis focusing on two main issues: (i) we use a classical and a quantum analytical approach to show that a dielectric background of cold atoms has a two-fold systematic effect: it changes the amount of momentum transferred to the signal-atoms, and it also changes the phase of the optical field. A numerical simulation of the quantum system based on parameters typical for the No-dqphoton-recoil experiment clearly shows that the resulting effect is less than 1/4 of this experiments overall uncertainty. It however may play a significant role for future atom interferometers. Further, (ii) the quantum analytical approach proves that under realistic conditions the photon-to-atom momentum transfer is given by the phase gradient of the optical field. We apply this result to the discussion of systematic effects arsing from the wave front curvature and Gouy phase shift of fundamental Gaussian beams.