Observation of light-induced coherence loss in a caesium atomic fountain
نویسندگان
چکیده
We report on an experimental measurement of the phase shifts associated with the AC Stark effect. The optically induced light shift was measured using a Ramsey fringe technique and we have made detailed studies of the potential sources of coherence loss that can occur for an atomic sample manipulated by light. We investigated the loss of coherence due to the light shifts induced by using a non-uniform laser beam and the effects of scattered light. These measurements have implications for experiments which use optical techniques for manipulating atomic wavepackets in atom optics and atom interferometry.
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