Comment on "Matter-wave interferometry with helium atoms in low-$l$ Rydberg states''

Abstract

Tommey and Hogan [Phys. Rev. A, 104, 033305 (2021)] have reported a matter-wave interference experiment using Rydberg atoms traveling through inhomogeneous electric fields at approximately 2000 m/s. Using a simplified model containing the essential physics of their experiment, we show that the phase difference measured by their observed interference fringes does not depend -- in any significant way -- on the acceleration of the Rydberg atoms, but instead simply on the uniform motion of the atoms through the inhomogeneous electric field.