Probing Atom-Surface Interactions by Diffraction of Bose-Einstein Condensates

• Main Authors: Helmar Bender, Christian Stehle, Claus Zimmermann, Sebastian Slama, Johannes Fiedler, Stefan Scheel, Stefan Yoshi Buhmann, Valery N. Marachevsky
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Physical Society 2014-02-01
• Series: Physical Review X
• Online Access: http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.4.011029

In this article, we analyze the Casimir-Polder interaction of atoms with a solid grating and the repulsive interaction between the atoms and the grating in the presence of an external laser source. The Casimir-Polder potential is evaluated exactly in terms of Rayleigh reflection coefficients and via an approximate Hamaker approach. The laser-tuned repulsive interaction is given in terms of Rayleigh transmission coefficients. The combined potential landscape above the solid grating is probed locally by diffraction of Bose-Einstein condensates. Measured diffraction efficiencies reveal information about the shape of the potential landscape in agreement with the theory based on Rayleigh decompositions.