Atom interferometry with trapped fermi gases

Phys Rev Lett. 2004 Jun 11;92(23):230402. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.92.230402. Epub 2004 Jun 8.

Abstract

We realize an interferometer with an atomic Fermi gas trapped in an optical lattice under the influence of gravity. The single-particle interference between the eigenstates of the lattice results in macroscopic Bloch oscillations of the sample. The absence of interactions between fermions allows a time-resolved study of many periods of the oscillations, leading to a sensitive determination of the acceleration of gravity. The experiment proves the superiority of noninteracting fermions with respect to bosons for precision interferometry and offers a way for the measurement of forces with microscopic spatial resolution.