arXiv · cond-mat/0502014
Photon recoil momentum in dispersive media
Abstract
A systematic shift of the photon recoil due to the index of refraction of a dilute gas of atoms has been observed. The recoil frequency was determined with a two-pulse light grating interferometer using near-resonant laser light. The results show that the recoil momentum of atoms caused by the absorption of a photon is n\hbar k, where n is the index of refraction of the gas and k is the vacuum wavevector of the photon. This systematic effect must be accounted for in high-precision atom interferometry with light gratings.
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Gretchen K. Campbell, Aaron E. Leanhardt, Jongchul Mun, Micah Boyd, Erik W. Streed, Wolfgang Ketterle, David E. Pritchard. 2005-02-01. Photon recoil momentum in dispersive media. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.94.170403
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