Interference of an array of independent Bose-Einstein condensates

Zoran Hadzibabic (1) , Sabine Stock (1) , Baptiste Battelier (1) , Vincent Bretin (1) , Jean Dalibard (1)

1 LKB (Lhomond) - Laboratoire Kastler Brossel

We have observed high-contrast matter wave interference between 30 Bose-Einstein condensates with uncorrelated phases. Interference patterns were observed after independent condensates were released from a one-dimensional optical lattice and allowed to expand and overlap. This initially surprising phenomenon is explained with a simple theoretical model which generalizes the analysis of the interference of two independent condensates.

Domaines: Physique Quantique [quant-ph]; Matière Molle [cond-mat.soft]

Zoran Hadzibabic, Sabine Stock, Baptiste Battelier, Vincent Bretin, Jean Dalibard. Interference of an array of independent Bose-Einstein condensates. Physical Review Letters, 2004, 93, pp.180403. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.180403⟩. ⟨hal-00001592v2⟩