Engineering the quantum transport of atomic wavefunctions over macroscopic distances

A. Alberti, V. V. Ivanov, G. M. Tino, G. Ferrari

Published 2008-03-28, updated 2008-10-09Version 2

The manipulation of matterwave represents a milestone in the history of quantum mechanics. It was at the basis of its experimental validation through the observation of diffraction of matter on crystals, as well as grating and Young's double-slit interference with electrons, neutron, atoms and molecules. More recently matterwave manipulation has become a building block in the implementation of quantum devices such as quantum sensors and it plays an essential role in many proposals for implementing quantum computers. In this letter we coherently control the spatial extent of the wavefunction by reversibly stretching and shrinking the wavefunction over a millimeter distance. The remarkable experimental simplicity of the scheme would ease applications in the field of quantum transport and quantum computing.