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<div><font face="Arial" color="#000000">Seminar on<br>
<b>Modern Optics and Spectroscopy<br>
<br>
<br>
David Pritchard</b>, MIT<br>
<br>
<i><b>Confined atom interferometers<br>
<br>
</b></i>October 24, 2006<br>
<br>
12:00 noon - 1:00 p.m.</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" color="#000000">GRIER ROOM 34-401</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" color="#000000"><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<b>Abstract:<br>
<br>
</b></font><font face="Helvetica" color="#000000">Confined Atom
Interferometers do not operate like conventional interferometers in
which propagating amplitude is split in momentum space and
subsequently separates and recombines only due to propagation.
Rather, the atoms are held localized in a single well trap that morphs
into a double well with coherent atom phase in both wells, then
are recombined after accumulating a differential phase. If we
measure the relative phase of unconnected atoms initially, and then
after some interaction, we are performing atom interferometry.
Doing this with many atoms (e.g.with a BEC) in the initial trap
results in interference between possibly different numbers of atoms in
each of the separated wells - this is essentially interferometry with
classical objects. We have developed confined atom
interferometers using two approaches: deformable optical traps and
magnetic traps, both with new scientific opportunities.</font></div>
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