Abstract

The deflection of a stream of two-level atoms by a standing-wave light field has recently been studied extensively both experimentally and theoretically due to potential use in constructing an atomic inter ferometer with the De Broglie wavelength as its resolution limit.¹ Recent experiments have shown the existence of at least two scattering regimes, namely, the Raman-Nath regime² in which multiple atom ic beams can arise and the Bragg regime³ in which only two coherent beams participate.

© 1990 Optical Society of America