Decoherence of a matter wave by blackbody radiation
Résumé
We have observed the decoherence of a lithium atomic wave during its propagation in the presence of the
radiation emitted by tungsten-halogen lamps, i.e., decoherence induced by blackbody radiation. We used our
atom interferometer to detect this decoherence by measuring the atom fringe-visibility loss. The absorption of a
photon excites the atom, which spontaneously emits a fluorescence photon. The momenta of these two photons
have random directions, and this random character is the main source of decoherence. All previous similar
experiments used small-bandwidth coherent excitation by a laser, whereas incoherent radiation involves several
technical and conceptual differences. Our approach is interesting as blackbody radiation is omnipresent and
decoherence should be considered if particles resonant to electromagnetic fields are used.
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