Beams of atom matter waves with optical properties
Atom optics (or atomic optics) "refers to techniques to manipulate the trajectories and exploit the wave properties of neutral atoms".[1] Typical experiments employ beams of cold, slowly moving neutral atoms, as a special case of a particle beam. Like an optical beam, the atomic beam may exhibit diffraction and interference, and can be focused with a Fresnel zone plate[2] or a concave atomic mirror.[3]
For comprehensive overviews of atom optics, see the 1994 review by Adams, Sigel, and Mlynek[1] or the 2009 review by Cronin, Jörg, and Pritchard.[4] More bibliography about Atom Optics can be found in the 2017 Resource Letter in the American Journal of Physics.[5] For quantum atom optics see the 2018 review by Pezzè et al.[6]
^Pezzè, Luca; Smerzi, Augusto; Oberthaler, Markus K.; Schmied, Roman; Treutlein, Philipp (2018-09-05). "Quantum metrology with nonclassical states of atomic ensembles". Reviews of Modern Physics. 90 (3). American Physical Society (APS): 035005. arXiv:1609.01609. doi:10.1103/revmodphys.90.035005. ISSN0034-6861. S2CID119250709.