Open AccessThe Hanbury Brown-Twiss effect in a pulsed atom laser
Author(s) -
Andrew Manning,
Sean Hodgman,
Robert Dall,
Mattias Johnsson,
A. G. Truscott
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.18.018712
Subject(s) - physics , metastability , quantum decoherence , atomic physics , laser , atom (system on chip) , isotropy , helium , quantum optics , thermal , optics , quantum , quantum mechanics , meteorology , computer science , embedded system
We have used the Hanbury Brown-Twiss effect to directly compare the density correlations of a pulsed atom laser and a pulsed ultracold thermal source of metastable helium. It was found that the isotropic RF outcoupling of atoms from a Bose-Einstein condensate does not result in decoherence, while the 'bunching' typical of incoherent sources was observed for thermal atoms. This new method significantly increases data acquisition rates compared to previous measurements, and also permits future novel experiments which may allow us to probe processes such as the birth and death of a condensate by monitoring correlation effects.