Dynamical phase interferometry of cold atoms in optical lattices
Abstract
We study the propagation of cold-atom wave packets in an interferometer with a Mach-Zehnder topology based on the dynamical phase of Bloch oscillation in a weakly forced optical lattice with a narrow potential barrier that functions as a cold-atom wave packet splitter. We calculate analytically the atomic wave function, and show that the expected number of atoms in the two outputs of the interferometer oscillates rapidly as a function of the angle between the potential barrier and the forcing direction with period proportional to the external potential difference across a lattice spacing divided by the lattice band energy scale. The interferometer can be used as a high precision force probe whose principle of operation is different from current interferometers based on the overall position of Bloch oscillating wave packets.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1110.3479,
title = {Dynamical phase interferometry of cold atoms in optical lattices},
author = {Uri London and Omri Gat},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1110.3479},
year = {2011}
}
Comments
8 pages, 5 figures