Hannover 2013 – scientific programme
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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 15: Matter-wave optics
Q 15.5: Talk
Monday, March 18, 2013, 17:45–18:00, F 142
Theoretical description of QUANTUS experiments on interferometry with BECs in microgravity — •Wolfgang Zeller1, Enno Giese1, Endre Kajari1,2, Stephan Kleinert1, Vincenzo Tamma1, Albert Roura1, Wolfgang P. Schleich1, and the QUANTUS Team1,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 — 1Institut für Quantenphysik, Universität Ulm — 2Theoretische Physik, Universität des Saarlandes — 3Institut für Quantenoptik, LU Hannover — 4ZARM, Universität Bremen — 5Institut für Physik, HU Berlin — 6Institut für Laser-Physik, Universität Hamburg — 7Institut für angewandte Physik, TU Darmstadt — 8Midlands Ultracold Atom Research Centre, University of Birmingham, UK — 9FBH, Berlin — 10MPQ, Garching
The pioneering QUANTUS experiments merge microgravity environments with matter-wave interferometry using Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs). Recent experiments have realized a time-asymmetric Mach-Zehnder interferometer that produces in every shot an interference pattern in the density profile. We employ a time-dependent generalization of the Thomas-Fermi approximation [1], which accurately describes the expansion of the BEC in microgravity [2], to provide a simple theoretical explanation of all the relevant features observed in the experiments.
The QUANTUS project is supported by the German Space Agency DLR with funds provided by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) under grant number 50WM1136.
[1] Y. Castin and R. Dum, Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 5315 (1996).
[2] T. van Zoest et al., Science 328, 1540 (2010).