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arXiv · cond-mat/0511234

Cavity QED Detection of Interfering Matter Waves

T. Bourdel·T. Donner·S. Ritter·A. Öttl·M. Köhl·T. Esslinger
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Abstract

We observe the build-up of a matter wave interference pattern from single atom detection events in a double-slit experiment. The interference arises from two overlapping atom laser beams extracted from a Rubidium Bose-Einstein condensate. Our detector is a high-finesse optical cavity which realizes the quantum measurement of the presence of an atom and thereby projects delocalized atoms into a state with zero or one atom in the resonator. The experiment reveals simultaneously the granular and the wave nature of matter.

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T. Bourdel, T. Donner, S. Ritter, A. Öttl, M. Köhl, T. Esslinger. 2005-11-10. Cavity QED Detection of Interfering Matter Waves. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.73.043602

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