Coherence loss and revivals in atomic interferometry: A quantum-recoil analysis
arXiv:1006.0450 · doi:10.1088/1751-8113/45/16/165303
Abstract
The coherence effects induced by external photons coupled to matter waves inside a Mach-Zehnder three-grating interferometer are analyzed. Alternatively to atom-photon entanglement scenarios, the model considered here only relies on the atomic wave function and the momentum shift induced in it by the photon scattering events. A functional dependence is thus found between the observables, namely the fringe visibility and the phase shift, and the transversal momentum transfer distribution. A good quantitative agreement is found when comparing the results obtained from our model with the experimental data.
18 pages, 4 figures
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