Measuring the Temporal Coherence of an Atom Laser Beam
Measuring the Temporal Coherence of an Atom Laser Beam
We report on the measurement of the temporal coherence of an atom laser beam extracted from a (87)Rb Bose-Einstein condensate. Reflecting the beam from a potential barrier creates a standing matter wave structure. From the contrast of this interference pattern, observed by magnetic resonance imaging, we have deduced an energy …