Hannover 2013 – scientific programme

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A: Fachverband Atomphysik

A 13: Quantum meets gravity and metrology I

A 13.4: Invited Talk

Tuesday, March 19, 2013, 12:30–13:00, E 415

Relativistic effects in atom and neutron interferometry — •Wolfgang Schleich — Institut für Quantenphysik, Universität Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, D-89081 Ulm

Motivated by the recent debate if the Kasevich-Chu atom interferometer can measure the gravitational redshift, we show [1, 2, 3] that the physical origin of the observed phase shift depends on the representation of quantum mechanics chosen for the calculation. We illustrate this phenomenon using the position and the momentum representations and demonstrate that the decomposition of the total phase shift into three dynamical phases, which emerges in the Feynman path integral approach and is at the very heart of the redshift controversy, does not appear in position space. This feature stands out most clearly in a representation-free analysis of the Kasevich-Chu interferometer where two rather than three phases contribute to the phase shift. We also compare and contrast atom and neutron interferometry.

[1] W.P. Schleich, D.M. Greenberger, and E.M. Rasel, A representation-free description of the Kasevich-Chu interferometer: A resolution of the redshift controversy, New J. Phys. 15, 013007 (2013)

[2] W.P. Schleich, D.M. Greenberger, and E.M. Rasel, The redshift controversy in atom interferometry: Representation dependence of origin of phase shift, Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 010401 (2013)

[3] D.M. Greenberger, W.P. Schleich, and E.M. Rasel, Relativistic effects in atom and neutron interferometry and the differences between them, Phys. Rev. A 86, 063622 (2012)