Related papers: Quantum interferometry with complex molecules
We review recent progress and future prospects of matter wave interferometry with complex organic molecules and inorganic clusters. Three variants of a near-field interference effect, based on diffraction by material nanostructures, at…
Complex molecules are intriguing objects at the interface between quantum and classical phenomena. Compared to the electrons, neutrons, or atoms studied in earlier matter-wave experiments, they feature a much more complicated internal…
High contrast matter-wave interferometry is essential in various fundamental quantum mechanical experiments as well as for technical applications. Thereby, contrast and sensitivity are typically reduced by decoherence and dephasing effects.…
These lecture notes emerged from a contribution to the "Les Houches Summer School, Session CVII - Current Trends in Atomic Physics, July 2016". It is meant to serve students as a guide to a selection of topics that are currently at the…
Matter-wave interferometry with nanoparticles will enable the development of quantum sensors capable of probing ultraweak fields with unprecedented applications for fundamental physics. The high sensitivity of such devices however makes…
Research on matter waves is a thriving field of quantum physics and has recently stimulated many investigations with electrons, neutrons, atoms, Bose-condensed ensembles, cold clusters and hot molecules. Coherence experiments with complex…
We discuss matter wave experiments in a near-field interferometer and focus on dephasing phenomena due to inertial forces. Their presence may result in a significant reduction of the observed interference contrast, even though they do not…
Emergent quantum technologies have led to increasing interest in decoherence - the processes that limit the appearance of quantum effects and turn them into classical phenomena. One important cause of decoherence is the interaction of a…
We study the loss of spatial coherence in the extended wave function of fullerenes due to collisions with background gases. From the gradual suppression of quantum interference with increasing gas pressure we are able to support…
Quantum superposition is central to quantum theory but challenges our concepts of reality and spacetime when applied to macroscopic objects like Schr\"odinger's cat. For that reason, it has been a long-standing question whether quantum…
Matter-wave interferometry has been largely studied in the last few years. Usually, the main problem in the analysis of the diffraction experiments is to establish the causes for the loss of coherence observed in the interference pattern.…
Atom interferometers provide a powerful means of realizing quantum coherent systems with increasingly macroscopic extent in space and time. These systems provide an opportunity for a variety of novel tests of fundamental physics, including…
Non-classical states of light find applications in enhancing the performance of optical interferometric experiments, with notable example of gravitational wave-detectors. Still, the presence of decoherence hinders significantly the…
The wave-particle duality of massive objects is a cornerstone of quantum physics and a key property of many modern tools such as electron microscopy, neutron diffraction or atom interferometry. Here we report on the first experimental…
Interference with atomic and molecular matter waves is a rich branch of atomic physics and quantum optics. It started with atom diffraction from crystal surfaces and the separated oscillatory fields technique used in atomic clocks. Atom…
Optics and interferometry with matter waves is the art of coherently manipulating the translational motion of particles like neutrons, atoms and molecules. Coherent atom optics is an extension of techniques that were developed for…
We investigate the influence of thermally activated internal molecular dynamics on the phase shifts of matter waves inside a molecule interferometer. While de Broglie physics generally describes only the center-of-mass motion of a quantum…
Matter-wave interferometry with molecules is intriguing both because it demonstrates a fundamental quantum phenomenon and because it opens avenues to quantum-enhanced measurements in physical chemistry. One great challenge in such…
Vibrations, electromagnetic oscillations and temperature drifts are among the main reasons for dephasing in matter-wave interferometry. Sophisticated interferometry experiments, e.g. with ions or heavy molecules, often require integration…
Interference of more and more massive objects provides a spectacular confirmation of quantum theory. It is usually regarded as support for "wave-particle duality" and in an extension of this duality even as support for "complementarity". We…