Concept of an ionizing time-domain matter-wave interferometer

Abstract

We discuss the concept of an all-optical and ionizing matter-wave\ninterferometer in the time domain. The proposed setup aims at testing the wave\nnature of highly massive clusters and molecules, and it will enable new\nprecision experiments with a broad class of atoms, using the same laser system.\nThe propagating particles are illuminated by three pulses of a standing\nultraviolet laser beam, which detaches an electron via efficient single\nphoton-absorption. Optical gratings may have periods as small as 80 nm, leading\nto wide diffraction angles for cold atoms and to compact setups even for very\nmassive clusters. Accounting for the coherent and the incoherent parts of the\nparticle-light interaction, we show that the combined effect of phase and\namplitude modulation of the matter waves gives rise to a Talbot-Lau-like\ninterference effect with a characteristic dependence on the pulse delay time.\n