Imaging trapped quantum gases by off-axis holography

TL;DR

This paper introduces a dispersive imaging technique for trapped quantum gases using digital off-axis holography, enabling low-dose, high-precision phase and intensity measurements with defocus correction.

Contribution

It presents a novel holographic method that measures phase delay and intensity simultaneously, allowing lower probe doses and improved image correction in quantum gas imaging.

Findings

Achieves phase delay measurement at two orders of magnitude lower doses

Simultaneously determines phase and intensity from a single image

Numerically corrects for image defocusing

Abstract

We present a dispersive imaging method for trapped quantum gases based on digital off-axis holography. Both phase delay and intensity of the probe field are determined from the same image. Due to the heterodyne gain inherent to the holographic method it is possible to retrieve the phase delay induced by the atoms at probe beam doses two orders of magnitude lower than phase-contrast imaging methods. Using the full field of the probe beam we numerically correct for image defocusing.