Matter waves from quantum sources in a force field

Abstract

Localized scattering phenomena may result in the formation of stationary matter waves originating from a compact region in physical space. Mathematically, such waves are advantageously expressed in terms of quantum sources that are introduced into the Schr\"odinger equation. The source formalism yields direct access to the scattering wave function, particle distribution, and total current. As an example, we study emission from three-dimensional Gaussian sources into a homogeneous force field. This model describes the behaviour of an atom laser supplied by an ideal Bose-Einstein condensate under the influence of gravity. We predict a strong dependence of the beam profile on the condensate size and the presence of interference phenomena recently observed in photodetachment experiments.