Atom Optics

Quantum mechanics does away with the distinction between particles and waves, and one of the more interesting implications of the wave/particle duality - the discovery that atoms may be manipulated in ways analogous to the manipulation of light with lenses and mirrors - has formed the basis for the relatively new field of atom optics. Pierre Meystre's Atom Optics is the first book entirely devoted to this exciting area of research. Reference links to the leading journals in the field, links to research sites, graphics, and updates can be found online.

The rapid development of quantum technologies has driven a revolution in related research areas such as quantum computation and communication, and quantum materials. The first prototypes of functional quantum devices are beginning to appear, frequently created using ensembles of atoms, which allow the observation of sensitive, quantum effects, and have important applications in quantum simulation and matter wave interferometry. This modern text offers a self-contained introduction to the fundamentals of quantum atom optics and atomic many-body matter wave systems. Assuming a familiarity with undergraduate quantum mechanics, this book will be accessible for graduate students and early career researchers moving into this important new field. A detailed description of the underlying theory of quantum atom optics is given, before development of the key, quantum, technological applications, such as atom interferometry, quantum simulation, quantum metrology, and quantum computing.

This book deals specifically with the manipulation of atoms by laser light, describing the focusing, channeling and reflection of atoms by laser fields. It also describes the potential fields required to cause the phase change of the wave function necessary for the atomic interactions to occur.

Intrinsic features of the optical near field open a new frontier in optical science and technology by finally overcoming the diffraction limit to reach nanometric dimensions. But this book goes beyond near-field optical microscopy to cover local spectroscopy, nanoscale optical processing and storage, quantum near-field optics, and atom manipulation. Near-Field Nano/Atom Optics and Technology provides the first complete and systematically compiled account of the science and technology required to generate the near field, and features applications including imaging of biological specimens and diagnostics for semiconductor nanomaterials and devices. This monograph will be invaluable to researchers who want to implement near-field technology in their own work, and it can also be used as a textbook for graduate or undergraduate students.

"The goal of this volume is to discuss the rapidly moving field of atom optics and interferometry with all its intricate aspects ranging from fundamental physics to applications and the theory of relativity. The breathtaking success in manipulating atoms using lasers has encouraged these two so far disjunct communities to move closer together and begin collaborations. After an introduction to atom optics and Bose-Einstein condensation, the theoretical foundations of cold atom interferometers, their use to test gravity, and their implementation in laboratory measurements of the earth rotation and of Newton's gravitational constant are discussed. Several papers discuss the characteristics of gyroscopes and interferometers as sensors for inertial forces, starting from gyroscopes based on light waves and comparing their sensitivity to those based on matter waves. The final topic is the variation of fundamental constants, a subject that during the last years has attracted a lot of --

This thesis explores ultracold quantum gases of bosonic and fermionic atoms in optical lattices. The highly controllable experimental setting discussed in this work, has opened the door to new insights into static and dynamical properties of ultracold quantum matter. One of the highlights reported here is the development and application of a novel time-resolved spectroscopy technique for quantum many-body systems. By following the dynamical evolution of a many-body system after a quantum quench, the author shows how the important energy scales of the underlying Hamiltonian can be measured with high precision. This achievement, its application, and many other exciting results make this thesis of interest to a broad audience ranging from quantum optics to condensed matter physics. A lucid style of writing accompanied by a series of excellent figures make the work accessible to readers outside the rapidly growing research field of ultracold atoms.

An in-depth and wide-ranging introduction to the field of quantum optics.

This book deals specifically with the manipulation of atoms by laser light, describing the focusing, channeling and reflection of atoms by laser fields. It also describes the potential fields required to cause the phase change of the wave function necessary for the atomic interactions to occur.