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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 45: Materiewellenoptik
Q 45.3: Talk
Thursday, March 13, 2008, 14:30–14:45, 3G
Matter wave Talbot-Lau interferometry beyond the eikonal approximation — •Stefan Nimmrichter1,2 and Klaus Hornberger1 — 1Arnold Sommerfeld Center for Theoretical Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München — 2Physikalisches Institut, Universität Wien
We present a generalized phase-space description of matter wave Talbot-Lau interference experiments allowing to incorporate arbitrary grating interactions and realistic beam characteristics. These setups are being used to demonstrate the wave nature of complex molecules [1,2]. Typically they consist of three gratings and operate in the near field regime where the different diffraction orders interfere among each other. Unlike in far field diffraction, the interaction between the interfering particle and the grating crucially affects the interference contrast. The eikonal approximation used so far is expected to cease to be valid in upcoming experiments with more massive particles. Our theoretical model admits a general description of the grating interaction process using scattering theory. Based on this, we develop a semiclassical correction to the eikonal approximation.
[1] L. Hackermüller et al, Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 090408 (2003)
[2] S. Gerlich et al, Nature Physics 3, 711 (2007)