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Phasor analysis of atom diffraction from a rotated material grating

Alexander D. Cronin·John D. Perreault
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Abstract

The strength of an atom-surface interaction is determined by studying atom diffraction from a rotated material grating. A phasor diagram is developed to interpret why diffraction orders are never completely suppressed when a complex transmission function due to the van der Waals interaction is present. We also show that atom-surface interactions can produce asymmetric diffraction patterns. Our conceptual discussion is supported by experimental observations with a sodium atom beam.

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Alexander D. Cronin, John D. Perreault. 2003-12-19. Phasor analysis of atom diffraction from a rotated material grating. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.70.043607

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