David A. Kokorowski, Alex D. Cronin, Tony D. Roberts, David E. Pritchard
Published 2000-09-11, updated 2001-01-18Version 2
We measure the decoherence of a spatially separated atomic superposition due to spontaneous photon scattering. We observe a qualitative change in decoherence versus separation as the number of scattered photons increases, and verify quantitatively the decoherence rate constant in the many-photon limit. Our results illustrate an evolution of decoherence consistent with general models developed for a broad class of decoherence phenomenon.
Comments: submitted to PRL Septermber 5 2000 resubmitted to PRL December 5, 2000 Accepted for publication in PRL Jan 12, 2001
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