Düsseldorf 2007 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 67: Poster Teilchenoptik

Q 67.3: Poster

Donnerstag, 22. März 2007, 16:30–18:30, Poster C

Matter wave Talbot-Lau interferometry beyond the eikonal approximation — •Stefan Nimmrichter and Klaus Hornberger — Arnold Sommerfeld Center for Theoretical Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

Our project deals with the theoretical description of a near-field matter wave interference experiment using the Talbot-Lau setup. Typically, it consists of three equal gratings, the second one responsible for the actual interference effect. It is particularly suited to demonstrate the wave nature of large molecules [1]. Unlike in far-field interference, the precise form of the interaction between the beam particles and the grating wall plays a decisive role for the quantitative description of the interference contrast. So far, the eikonal approximation has been sufficient for calculating the interference signal [2]. However, it ceases to be valid for beam molecules with masses beyond 2000 amu. Our aim is to develop a systematic framework for constructing higher order approximations of the grating interaction in the passage propagator for both the quantum and the classical treatment. The description will be based on the Wigner-Weyl representation of quantum mechanics. In particular, this permits to compare the quantum predictions with the corresponding classical model.

[1] Hackermüller et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 090408 (2003)

[2] Hornberger et al. Phys. Rev. A 70, 053608 (2004)