Related papers: Phasor analysis of atom diffraction from a rotated…
Prompted by recent experimental developments, a theory of surface scattering of fast atoms at grazing incidence is developed. The theory gives rise to a quantum mechanical limit for ordered surfaces that describes coherent diffraction peaks…
We present a theoretical model of matter-wave diffraction through a material nanostructure. This model is based on the numerical solution of the time-dependent Schr{\"o}dinger equation, which goes beyond the standard semi-classical…
It has recently been shown that optical reflection gratings fabricated directly into an atom chip provide a simple and effective way to trap and cool substantial clouds of atoms [1,2]. In this article we describe how the gratings are…
Four atom optics experiments that each serve to measure atom-surface interactions near nanofabricated gratings are presented here. In these experiments atoms in a beam travel within 25 nm of a material grating bar, and the analysis…
We calculate the van der Waals friction between two semi-infinite solids in normal relative motion and find a drastic difference in comparison with the parallel relative motion. The case of the good conductors is investigated in details…
Matter-wave interferometry has become an essential tool in studies on the foundations of quantum physics and for precision measurements. Mechanical gratings have played an important role as coherent beamsplitters for atoms, molecules and…
We aim to understand how the van der Waals force between neutral adatoms and a graphene layer is modified by uniaxial strain and electron correlation effects. A detailed analysis is presented for three atoms (He, H, and Na) and graphene…
Bohmian mechanics, widely known within the field of the quantum foundations, has been a quite useful resource for computational and interpretive purposes in a wide variety of practical problems. Here, it is used to establish a comparative…
We develop a versatile theoretical approach to the study of cold-atom diffractive scattering from light-field gratings by combining calculations of the optical near-field, generated by evanescent waves close to the surface of periodic…
We have studied the optical properties of gratings micro-fabricated into semiconductor wafers, which can be used for simplifying cold-atom experiments. The study entailed characterisation of diffraction efficiency as a function of coating,…
Dispersion interactions such as the van der Waals interaction between atoms or molecules derive from quantum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field and can be understood as the exchange of virtual photons between the interacting…
This paper presents our current measurements in a vapor nanocell aiming at a test of the distance-dependence of the atom-surface interaction, when simple asymptotic descriptions may turn to be not valid. A state-of-the-art of atom-surface…
Diffraction of matter-waves is an important demonstration of the fact that objects in nature possess a mixture of particle-like and wave-like properties. Unlike in the case of light diffraction, matter-waves are subject to a vacuum-mediated…
This chapter deals with atom-wall interaction occurring in the "long-range" regime (typical distances: 1-1000 nm), when the electromagnetic fluctuations of an isolated atom are modified by the vicinity with a surface. Various regimes of…
The Casimir-Polder and van der Waals interactions between an atom and a flat cavity wall are investigated under the influence of real conditions including the dynamic polarizability of the atom, actual conductivity of the wall material and…
Atomic diffraction through double slits and transmission gratings is well described in terms of the associated de Broglie waves and classical wave optics. However, for weakly bound and relatively large systems, such as the He_2 dimer, this…
We theoretically address grazing incidence fast atom diffraction (GIFAD) for H atoms impinging on a LiF(001) surface. Our model combines a description of the H-LiF(001) interaction obtained from Density Functional Theory calculations with a…
We demonstrate a method for measuring atom-surface interactions using transmission spectroscopy of thermal vapors confined in a wedged nano-cell. The wedged shape of the cell allows complementary measurements of both the bulk atomic vapor…
We calculate the van der Waals dispersive interaction between a neutral but polarizable atom and a perfectly conducting isolated sphere in the nonretarded case. We make use of two separate models, one being the semiclassical…
A method for diffracting the weak probe beam into unidirectional and higher-order directions is proposed via a novel Rydberg electromagnetically induced grating, providing a new way for the implementations of quantum devices with cold…