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Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 164101 (2004) [4 pages]

Gravity-Sensitive Quantum Dynamics in Cold Atoms

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Z.-Y. Ma1, M. B. d’Arcy2, and S. A. Gardiner3
1Clarendon Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU, United Kingdom
2Atomic Physics Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899-8424, USA
3JILA, University of Colorado and National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0440, USA

Received 10 November 2003; revised 24 June 2004; published 12 October 2004

We subject a falling cloud of cold cesium atoms to periodic kicks from a sinusoidal potential created by a vertical standing wave of laser light. By controllably accelerating the potential, we show quantum accelerator mode dynamics to be highly sensitive to the effective gravitational acceleration when close to specific, resonant values. This quantum sensitivity to a control parameter is reminiscent of that associated with classical chaos and promises techniques for precision measurement.


©2004 The American Physical Society

URL: http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.164101
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.164101
PACS: 05.45.Mt, 03.65.Sq, 32.80.Lg, 42.50.Vk

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