Optics and Interferometry with Atoms and Molecules

This chapter discusses recent accomplishments in the atom and molecular optics and interferometry at MIT. The chapter begins with a discussion of the details of an experimental apparatus and gives an overview of recent accomplishments in atom and molecular optics. It then describes the atom and molecule interferometer, which is unique in that the two interfering components of the atom wave are spatially separated and can be physically isolated by a metal foil. The interferometer is especially well suited for the study of atomic and molecular properties as it enables one to apply different interactions to each of the two components of the wave function, which in turn permits spectroscopic precision in the study of interactions that shift the energy or phase of a single state of the atom. The chapter also describes an experiment in which this capability is used to determine the ground state polarizability of sodium to 0.3%—an order of magnitude improvement—by measuring the energy shift due to a uniform electric field applied to one component of the wave function. The chapter also provides an overview of the relativistic effects in electromagnetic interactions, and differential force interferometry.