Hannover 2016 – scientific programme

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 21: Matter Wave Optics

Q 21.5: Talk

Tuesday, March 1, 2016, 15:30–15:45, a310

Atomic quantum superpostion at the half-meter scale — Tim Kovachy, •Peter Asenbaum, Chris Overstreet, Christine Donnelly, Susannah Dickerson, Alex Sugarbaker, Jason Hogan, and Mark Kasevich — Stanford University, Stanford, US

In matter wave interferometers, large wave packet separation is impeded by the need for long interaction times and large momentum beam splitters, which cause susceptibility to decoherence and dephasing. We use light-pulse atom interferometry to realize quantum interference with wave packets separated by up to 54 cm on the time scale of one second. Large superposition states are vital to exploring gravity with atom interferometers in greater detail, e.g. tests of the equivalence principle.