Palmer J E, Hogan S D
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
Phys Rev Lett. 2019 Jun 28;122(25):250404. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.250404.
An electric analogue of the longitudinal Stern-Gerlach matter-wave interferometer has been realized for atoms in Rydberg states with high principal quantum number n. The experiments were performed with He atoms prepared in coherent superpositions of the n=55 and n=56 circular Rydberg states in a zero electric field by a π/2 pulse of resonant microwave radiation. These atoms were subjected to a pulsed inhomogeneous electric field to generate a superposition of momentum states before a π pulse was applied to invert the internal states. The same pulsed inhomogeneous electric field was then reapplied for a second time to transform the motional states to have equal momenta before a further π/2 pulse was employed to interrogate the final Rydberg state populations. This Hahn-echo microwave pulse sequence, interspersed with a pair of equivalent inhomogeneous electric field pulses, yielded two spatially separated matter waves. Interferences between these matter waves were observed as oscillations in the final Rydberg state populations as the amplitude of the pulsed electric field gradients was adjusted.
已实现一种用于高主量子数(n)的里德堡态原子的纵向斯特恩 - 盖拉赫物质波干涉仪的电模拟装置。实验使用氦原子，通过共振微波辐射的(\pi/2)脉冲，在零电场中将其制备成(n = 55)和(n = 56)圆里德堡态的相干叠加态。在施加(\pi)脉冲使内部态反转之前，这些原子受到脉冲非均匀电场作用以产生动量态的叠加。然后再次施加相同的脉冲非均匀电场，以便在使用另一个(\pi/2)脉冲探测最终里德堡态布居之前，将运动态变换为具有相等的动量。这种哈恩回波微波脉冲序列，穿插有一对等效的非均匀电场脉冲，产生了两个空间分离的物质波。当调整脉冲电场梯度的幅度时，观察到这些物质波之间的干涉表现为最终里德堡态布居的振荡。
