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arXiv · 1606.07237

Return to the Origin as a Probe of Atomic Phase Coherence

Abstract

We report on the observation of the coherent enhancement of the return probability ("enhanced return to the origin" , ERO) in a periodically kicked cold-atom gas. By submitting an atomic wave packet to a pulsed, periodically shifted laser standing wave, we induce an oscillation of ERO in time and explain it in terms of a periodic, reversible dephasing in the weak-localization interference sequences responsible for ERO. Monitoring the temporal decay of ERO, we exploit its quantum coherent nature to quantify the decoherence rate of the atomic system.

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Clément Hainaut, Isam Manai, Radu Chicireanu, Jean-François Clément, Samir Zemmouri, Jean Claude Garreau, Pascal Szriftgiser, Gabriel Lemarié, Nicolas Cherroret, Dominique Delande. 2016-06-23. Return to the Origin as a Probe of Atomic Phase Coherence. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.118.184101

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