Interference of small and of large quantum particles behind an asymmetric grating

Quantum theory of interference phenomena does not take the diameter of the particle into account, since particles were much smaller than the width of the slits before the rise of molecular interferometry. In the experiments with large molecules, the diameter of the particle has approached the width...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review. A, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics Atomic, molecular, and optical physics, 2004-05, Vol.69 (5), Article 053618
Main Authors: Bozic, Mirjana, Arsenovic, Dusan, Vuskovic, Leposava
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ASYMMETRY
ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
DIFFRACTION GRATINGS
DISTANCE
DISTRIBUTION
INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
INTERFERENCE
INTERFEROMETRY
MOLECULES
OPTICS
PARTICLE SIZE
PARTICLES
QUANTUM MECHANICS
TRANSVERSE MOMENTUM
WAVE FUNCTIONS
WIDTH
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Summary:Quantum theory of interference phenomena does not take the diameter of the particle into account, since particles were much smaller than the width of the slits before the rise of molecular interferometry. In the experiments with large molecules, the diameter of the particle has approached the width of the slits. Therefore, an analytical description of these cases should include a finite particle size. An asymmetric double-slit grating seems to be very suitable for the study of the influence of a particle's size on the interference pattern. We identify three characteristic cases for the ratio of slit widths {delta}{sub 1} and {delta}{sub 2} and the particle diameter D: D{delta}{sub 1} and D{delta}{sub 2}, {delta}{sub 1}>D>{delta}{sub 2}, and D>{delta}{sub 1}>{delta}{sub 2}. Taking into account the influence of both slits on the particle wave function, regardless of through which slit the particle passed, we treat the particle-wall interaction in a simple fashion, such that if the particle size is greater than the slit opening there is no transmission. The transverse momentum distribution is independent of the distance from the slits and the particle size, while the space distribution strongly depends on this distance and the particle size. We found that the interference is absent only when the particle's diameter is larger than both slit widths, D>{delta}{sub 1}>{delta}{sub 2}.
ISSN:1050-2947
1094-1622
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevA.69.053618