Related papers: Coherently enhanced decoherence and cloud substruc…
We study the decoherence of a system of $N$ non-interacting heavy particles (atoms) due to coherent scattering with a background gas. We introduce a framework for computing the induced phase shift and loss of contrast for arbitrary…
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…
Decoherence due to scattering from background gas particles is observed for the first time in a Mach-Zehnder atom interferometer, and compared with decoherence due to scattering photons. A single theory is shown to describe decoherence due…
Atom and matter interferometers are precise quantum sensing experiments that can probe differential forces along separated spacetime paths. Various atom and matter interferometer experiments have been proposed to study dark matter,…
By using the coherent backscattering interference effect, we investigate experimentally and theoretically how coherent transport of light inside a cold atomic vapour is affected by the residual motion of atomic scatterers. As the…
Coherent backscattering is a coherence effect in the propagation of waves through disordered media involving two or more scattering events. Here, we report on the observation of coherent backscattering from individual atoms and their mirror…
When a resonant laser sent on an optically thick cold atomic cloud is abruptly switched off, a coherent flash of light is emitted in the forward direction. This transient phenomenon is observed due to the highly resonant character of the…
Coherent effects manifested in light scattering from cold, optically dense and disordered atomic systems are reviewed from a primarily theoretical point of view. Development of the basic theoretical tools is then elaborated through several…
Direct detection experiments for dark matter are increasingly ruling out large parameter spaces. However, light dark matter models with particle masses $<$ GeV are still largely unconstrained. Here we examine a proposal to use atom…
The ability to trap and guide coherent electrons is gaining importance in fundamental as well as in applied physics. In this regard novel quantum devices are currently developed that may operate under low vacuum conditions. Here we study…
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…
The collision of two ultra-cold atoms results in a quantum-mechanical superposition of two outcomes: each atom continues without scattering and each atom scatters as a spherically outgoing wave with an s-wave phase shift. The magnitude of…
We review experimental and theoretical studies of coherent backscattering of near resonant radiation from an ultracold atomic gas in the weak localization regime. Recent accomplishments in high resolution spectroscopy of atomic ensembles…
The interaction of two--level atoms with a common heat bath leads to an effective interaction between the atoms, such that with time the internal degrees of the atoms become correlated or even entangled. If part of the atoms remain…
We analyze collisional decoherence of atoms or molecules prepared in a coherent superposition of nondegenerate internal states at ultralow temperatures and placed in an ultracold buffer gas. Our analysis is applicable for an arbitrary bath…
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…
Coherent backscattering (CBS) of light waves by a random medium is a signature of interference effects in multiple scattering. This effect has been studied in many systems ranging from white paint to biological tissues. Recently, we have…
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.…
We discuss the various manifestations of quantum decoherence in the forms of dephasing, entanglement with the environment, and revelation of "which-path" information. As a specific example, we consider an electron interference experiment.…
Matter-wave interferometry of ultra-cold atoms with attractive interactions is studied at the full many-body level. First, we study how a coherent light-pulse applied to an initially-condensed solitonic system splits it into two…