Atom optics (or atomic optics) is the area of
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
which deals with beams of cold, slowly moving neutral atoms, as a special case of a
particle beam
A particle beam is a stream of charged or neutral particles. In particle accelerators, these particles can move with a velocity close to the speed of light. There is a difference between the creation and control of charged particle beams and ne ...
.
Like an optical beam, the atomic beam may exhibit
diffraction and
interference
Interference is the act of interfering, invading, or poaching. Interference may also refer to:
Communications
* Interference (communication), anything which alters, modifies, or disrupts a message
* Adjacent-channel interference, caused by extr ...
, and can be focused with a Fresnel
zone plate
A zone plate is a device used to Focus (optics), focus light or other things exhibiting wave character.G. W. Webb, I. V. Minin and O. V. Minin, “Variable Reference Phase in Diffractive Antennas”, ''IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine'', ...
or a concave
atomic mirror In physics, an atomic mirror is a device which reflects neutral atoms in the similar way as a conventional mirror reflects visible light. Atomic mirrors can be made of electric fields or magnetic fields, electromagnetic waves or just silicon waf ...
.
Several scientific groups work in this field.
[Atom Optics at the ]University of Queensland
, mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work
, established =
, endowment = A$224.3 million
, budget = A$2.1 billion
, type = Public research university
, chancellor = Peter Varghese
, vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry
, city = B ...
(Australia) homepage
Until 2006, the resolution of imaging systems based on atomic beams was not better than that of an optical
microscope
A microscope () is a laboratory instrument used to examine objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Microscopy is the science of investigating small objects and structures using a microscope. Microscopic means being invisi ...
,
mainly due to the poor performance of the focusing elements. Such elements use small
numerical aperture;
usually, atomic mirrors use
grazing incidence, and the reflectivity drops drastically with increase of the
grazing angle; for efficient normal reflection, atoms should be
ultracold, and
dealing with such atoms usually involves
magnetic,
magneto-optical
A magneto-optical drive is a kind of optical disc drive capable of writing and rewriting data upon a magneto-optical disc. Both 130 mm (5.25 in) and 90 mm (3.5 in) form factors exist. In 1983, just a year after the introduct ...
or
optical
Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultravio ...
traps.
Recent scientific publications about Atom Nano-Optics,
evanescent field
In electromagnetics, an evanescent field, or evanescent wave, is an oscillating electric and/or magnetic field that does not propagate as an electromagnetic wave but whose energy is spatially concentrated in the vicinity of the source (oscillati ...
lenses
and
ridged mirror
In atomic physics, a ridged mirror (or ridged atomic mirror, or Fresnel diffraction mirror) is a kind of atomic mirror, designed for the specular reflection of neutral particles (atoms) coming at a grazing incidence angle. In order to reduce the ...
s
show significant improvement since the beginning of the 21st century. In particular, an
atomic hologram
Atomic may refer to:
* Of or relating to the atom, the smallest particle of a chemical element that retains its chemical properties
* Atomic physics, the study of the atom
* Atomic Age, also known as the "Atomic Era"
* Atomic scale, distances comp ...
can be realized.
An extensive review article "Optics and interferometry with atoms and molecules" appeared in July 2009.
[
]
More bibliography about Atom Optics can be found at the Resource Letter.
See also
*
Atomic nanoscope
The atomic de Broglie microscope (also atomic nanoscope, neutral beam microscope, or scanning helium microscope when helium is used as the probing atom) is an imaging system which is expected to provide resolution at the nanometer scale. It is som ...
*
Electron microscope
An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of accelerated electrons as a source of illumination. As the wavelength of an electron can be up to 100,000 times shorter than that of visible light photons, electron microscopes have a hi ...
*
Quantum reflection
Quantum reflection is a uniquely quantum phenomenon in which a compact object, such as a neutron or a small molecule, reflects smoothly and in a wavelike fashion from a much larger surface, such as a pool of mercury. In contrast, a classically beha ...
References
*Atomic and Optical Science Researchers at the University of Arizona: http://www.atomwave.org.
*
Pierre Meystre
Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...
. ''Atom Optics''
*
Atomic, molecular, and optical physics
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