Related papers: Light transport in cold atoms and thermal decohere…
The recent observation of coherent backscattering (CBS) of light by atoms has emphasized the key role of the velocity spread and of the quantum internal structure of the atoms. Firstly, using highly resonant scatterers imposes very low…
Light propagating in an optically thick sample experiences multiple scattering. It is now known that interferences alter this propagation, leading to an enhanced backscattering, a manifestation of weak localization of light in such diffuse…
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…
We compare two different models of transport of light in a disordered system with a spherical Gaussian distribution of scatterers. A coupled dipole model, keeping into account all interference effects, is compared to an incoherent model,…
We study how coherent scattering of a background gas off an atom (or other matter) interferometer can lead to enhanced signals from phase shifts and contrast loss. We focus on the inclusion of realistic features of atom interferometers such…
We describe a new mechanism of decoherence in excited atoms as a result of thermal particles scattering by the atomic nucleus. It is based on the idea that a single scattering will produce a sudden displacement of the nucleus, which will be…
We investigate coherent backscattering of light by two harmonically trapped atoms in the light of quantitative quantum duality. Including recoil and Doppler shift close to an optical resonance, we calculate the interference visibility as…
We theoretically study the propagation of light through a cold atomic medium, where the effects of motion, laser intensity, atomic density, and polarization can all modify the properties of the scattered light. We present two different…
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…
Since the work of Anderson on localization, interference effects for the propagation of a wave in the presence of disorder have been extensively studied, as exemplified in coherent backscattering (CBS) of light. In the multiple scattering…
We theoretically explore the possibility to detect weak localization of light in a hot atomic vapor, where one usually expects the fast thermal motion of the atoms to destroy any interference in multiple scattering. To this end, we compute…
Using a model system, we demonstrate both experimentally and theoretically that coherent scattering of light can be robust in hot atomic vapors despite a significant Doppler effect. By operating in a linear regime of far-detuned light…
The coherence of light from independent ensembles of elementary atomic emitters plays a paramount role in diverse areas of modern optics. We demonstrate the interference of photons scattered from independent ensembles of warm atoms in…
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…
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…
We study the effects of time uncertainty in the interaction of atoms with a standing light wave. We discuss its physical origin and the possibility to observe intrinsic decoherence effects by measuring the atomic momentum distribution.
We interpret cooperative scattering by a collection of cold atoms as a multiple scattering process. Starting from microscopic equations describing the response of $N$ atoms to a probe light beam, we represent the total scattered field as an…
We survey recent progress achieved in understanding the impact of inelastic processes on coherent backscattering of light from cold atoms that are saturated by a powerful laser field.
The effect of decoherence, induced by spontaneous emission, on the dynamics of cold atoms periodically kicked by an optical lattice is experimentally and theoretically studied. Ideally, the mean energy growth is essentially unaffected by…
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…