Negative-index media for matter-wave optics

TL;DR

This paper explores the creation of negative-index media for matter waves, enabling phenomena like negative refraction and applications such as atomic beam splitting and lensing, by extending optical meta-material concepts to atomic systems.

Contribution

It introduces a method to engineer wave-number dependent phase shifts in matter waves using pulsed magnetic fields, demonstrating negative refraction and novel atom-optic devices.

Findings

Achieved negative group velocity in atomic wave packets

Demonstrated atomic meta-lens and beam splitter functionalities

Proposed applications for matter-wave manipulation

Abstract

We consider the extension of optical meta-materials to matter waves. We show that the generic property of pulsed comoving magnetic fields allows us to fashion the wave-number dependence of the atomic phase shift. It can be used to produce a transient negative group velocity of an atomic wave packet, which results into a negative refraction of the matter wave. Application to slow metastable argon atoms Ar*(3P2) shows that the device is able to operate either as an efficient beam splitter or an atomic meta-lens. Implications of "meta-media" in atom optics are considered.