| Issue |
Ann. Phys. Fr.
Volume 32, Number 2-3, 2007
COLOQ'1010th conference on lasers and quantum optics
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Page(s) | 183 - 185 | |
| Section | Short contributions | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/anphys:2008038 | |
| Published online | 23 May 2008 | |
Measurement of the refraction index for atom waves
Laboratoire Collisions, Agrégats, Réactivité, IRSAMC,
UMR 5589 CNRS, Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse 3,
118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex, France
Corresponding author: jacques.vigue@irsamc.ups-tlse.fr
We have developed a Mach-Zehnder atom interferometer
which uses elastic diffraction of lithium atom on laser standing waves for
the coherent manipulation of the atom wave. The interference signal is of
sufficient quality to achieve a phase sensitivity near 10 milliradians/
.
With this apparatus, we have recently measured the
index of refraction of several gases for lithium waves. The interference
signals give access to the real and imaginary parts of (
) and we have
tested the linear dependence of these two quantities with gas density. The
measured values of () are in good agreement with calculations and they
exhibit glory oscillations, as predicted by theory.
© EDP Sciences, 2008