https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2010-00206-5
Matter wave interferometry for measuring a molecular transition dipole moment
Institut für Quantenoptik, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Welfengarten 1, 30167 Hannover, Germany
Corresponding author: a knoeckel@iqo.uni-hannover.de
Received:
1
June
2010
Revised:
1
July
2010
Published online:
2
August
2010
Molecular matter wave interferometry was investigated for its capability of measuring molecular transition
dipole moments. A pair of laser beams, tuned to a b3
–X1
transition, acts as beam
splitters to coherently split the matter wave, forming a matter wave interferometer of the Ramsey type.
An additional laser field is introduced between the two beam splitters. This field couples near resonantly
the ground state level of the beam splitter transition with an excited level of the B1
state. The
observed shift of the matter wave interference by the AC-Stark effect is used to determine as an example
the transition dipole moment of the Q(25) line of the (4-0) band of the B-X transition of K2. The experimental result agrees well within its uncertainty limits with transition dipole moments derived from
earlier lifetime measurements and from ab initio calculations of transition dipole moment functions.
Thus we could demonstrate quantitatively the applicability of matter wave interferometry for determination
of transition dipole moments of molecules.
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag, 2010
