Measuring finite-range phase coherence in an optical lattice using Talbot interferometry

TL;DR

This paper introduces a Talbot interferometry technique to measure finite-range phase coherence in ultracold atoms within optical lattices, enabling detailed study of coherence dynamics after quantum quenches.

Contribution

It presents a novel near-field interferometer based on the Talbot effect for measuring finite-range phase coherence in optical lattices, adaptable to various lattice experiments.

Findings

Successfully measured phase coherence build-up after a quantum quench.

Demonstrated the technique's applicability to ultracold atomic systems.

Provided insights into coherence dynamics in optical lattices.

Abstract

One of the important goals of present research is to control and manipulate coherence in a broad variety of systems, such as semiconductor spintronics, biological photosynthetic systems, superconducting qubits and complex atomic networks. Over the past decades interferometry of atoms and molecules has proven to be a powerful tool to explore coherence. Here we demonstrate a near-field interferometer based on the Talbot effect, which allows to measure finite-range phase coherence of ultracold atoms in an optical lattice. We apply this interferometer to study the build-up of phase coherence after a quantum quench of a Bose-Einstein condensate residing in a one-dimensional optical lattice. Our technique of measuring finite-range phase coherence is generic, easy to adopt, and can be applied in practically all lattice experiments without further modifications.