Darmstadt 2008 – scientific programme

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 45: Materiewellenoptik

Q 45.5: Talk

Thursday, March 13, 2008, 15:00–15:15, 3G

Decoherence in atom interferometry — •Scott Sanders^1,2,3, Florian Mintert^2,3, and Eric Heller² — ¹Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States — ²Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States — ³Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Hermann-Herder-Str. 3, 79104 Freiburg

We consider decoherence of an atom due to scattering from a free gas. Our analysis explains why a free gas can serve as a refractive medium that gives rise to a phase shift in atom interferometry, without acquiring which way information on the interfering particles.