Controlled decoherence in multiple beam Ramsey interference.
We have scattered photons from an interfering path of a multiple beam Ramsey interference experiment realized with a cesium atomic beam. It is demonstrated that in multiple beam interference the decoherence from photon scattering cannot only lead to a decrease but, under certain conditions, also to an increase of the Michelson fringe contrast. In all cases, the atomic quantum state loses information with photon scattering, as "which-path" information is carried away by the photon field. We outline an approach to quantify this which-path information from observed fringe signals, which allows for an appropriate measure of decoherence in multiple path interference.
Mei
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Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik, Hans-Kopfermann-Strasse 1, 85748 Garching, Germany.
Weitz
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