Abstract

The wave nature of particles has been demonstrated in many experiments and it continues to be an active area of research [1]. Optical elements for atoms such as beam splitters and mirrors have been used for the manipulation of atomic deBroglie waves. Many of these elements use light forces which under certain conditions allow the coherent manipulation of the atoms and thus are important for atom interferometry. Atom interferometers have many uses, including the precise measurement of fundamental constants.

© 1996 Optical Society of America