https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/s10053-025-00956-5
Regular Article - Atomic Physics
Controlling atomic wave interference by counter-propagating light pulses of different carrier frequencies
1
Department of Coherent and Quantum Optics, Institute of Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Nauky Avenue, 46, 03028, Kyiv, Ukraine
2
Department of Informatics and Computer Sciences, Kherson National Technical University, Institutska street, 11, 29016, Khmelnytskiy, Ukraine
Received:
2
September
2024
Accepted:
13
January
2025
Published online:
29
January
2025
We consider the interaction of a two-level atom with two counter-propagating light pulses of different carrier frequencies. To ensure adiabatic interaction, the pulse duration is much longer than both the inverse frequency difference and the maximum Rabi frequencies of the pulses. For the first time, we examine the case where the atom is initially prepared in a superposition of the ground and excited states with a momentum difference corresponding to one-photon recoil. We identify the conditions under which the atom’s final state is determined by the phase difference of the momentum components of the initial atomic wave. Given the large pulse duration, the interference effects depend critically on the rate of spontaneous emission from the excited state. We analyze the role of spontaneous emission using the Monte Carlo wave function method. The results of our calculations elucidate the influence of spontaneous radiation on both the momentum transferred to the atom and the interference outcome of the two atomic waves.
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to EDP Sciences, SIF and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2025
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.