Bragg spectroscopy for measuring Casimir-Polder interactions with Bose-Einstein condensates above corrugated surfaces

TL;DR

This paper introduces a method using two-photon Bragg spectroscopy to measure the Casimir-Polder interactions between Bose-Einstein condensates and corrugated surfaces, leveraging condensate coherence to analyze surface forces.

Contribution

It presents a novel spectroscopic technique to probe dispersive atom-surface interactions, specifically lateral Casimir-Polder forces, with potential for high spatial resolution.

Findings

Demonstrates the feasibility of using Bragg spectroscopy to detect surface interactions.

Shows how condensate coherence enhances measurement sensitivity.

Provides a framework for analyzing surface-induced forces in quantum gases.

Abstract

We propose a method to probe dispersive atom-surface interactions by measuring via two-photon Bragg spectroscopy the dynamic structure factor of a Bose-Einstein condensate above corrugated surfaces. This method takes advantage of the condensate coherence to reveal the spatial Fourier components of the lateral Casimir-Polder interaction energy.