Probing atomic 'quantum grating' by collisions with charged projectiles

Abstract

The wave function of an atom passed through a diffraction grating acquires a regular space structure and the interaction of another particle with this atom can be thought of as scattering on a 'quantum grating' composed of a single atom. Probing this 'grating' by collisions with charged projectiles reveals interference effects due to coherent contributions of its 'slits' to the transition amplitude. In particular, the spectra of electrons emitted from the atom in collisions with swift ions exhibit a pronounced interference pattern whose shape can be extremely sensitive to the collision velocity.