Diffraction in time
Encyclopedia
Diffraction in time is a phenomenon associated with the quantum dynamics of suddenly released matter waves initially confined in a region of space.
It was introduced in 1952 by Marcos Moshinsky
with the shutter problem : A matter-wave beam stopped by an absorbing shutter exhibits an oscillatory density profile during its propagation after removal of the shutter. Whenever the description of the propagation is accurately described by the time-dependent Schrödinger equation
, the transient wave functions resemble the solutions that appear for the intensity of light in the Fresnel diffraction
by a straight edge. For this reason, the transient phenomena was dubbed diffraction in time and ever since has been recognised as ubiquitous in quantum dynamics
The experimental confirmation of this phenomenon was only achieved about half a century later in the group of ultracold atoms directed by Jean Dalibard
.
It was introduced in 1952 by Marcos Moshinsky
Marcos Moshinsky
Marcos Moshinsky was a Mexican physicist of Ukrainian origin whose work in the field of elementary particles won him the Prince of Asturias Prize for Scientific and Technical Investigation in 1988 and the UNESCO Science Prize in 1997....
with the shutter problem : A matter-wave beam stopped by an absorbing shutter exhibits an oscillatory density profile during its propagation after removal of the shutter. Whenever the description of the propagation is accurately described by the time-dependent Schrödinger equation
Schrödinger equation
The Schrödinger equation was formulated in 1926 by Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger. Used in physics , it is an equation that describes how the quantum state of a physical system changes in time....
, the transient wave functions resemble the solutions that appear for the intensity of light in the Fresnel diffraction
Fresnel diffraction
In optics, the Fresnel diffraction equation for near-field diffraction, is an approximation of Kirchhoff-Fresnel diffraction that can be applied to the propagation of waves in the near field....
by a straight edge. For this reason, the transient phenomena was dubbed diffraction in time and ever since has been recognised as ubiquitous in quantum dynamics
The experimental confirmation of this phenomenon was only achieved about half a century later in the group of ultracold atoms directed by Jean Dalibard
Jean Dalibard
Jean Dalibard is a French physicist, Professor at the École Polytechnique, member of the French Academy of Sciences and a researcher at the École Normale Supérieure. In 2009, Dalibard received the Blaise Pascal medal of the European Academy of Sciences for "his outstanding and influential works in...
.