Talbot-Lau interferometry with fullerenes: Sensitivity to inertial forces and vibrational dephasing

Abstract

We discuss matter wave experiments in a near-field interferometer and focus on dephasing phenomena due to inertial forces. Their presence may result in a significant reduction of the observed interference contrast, even though they do not lead to genuine decoherence. We provide quantitative estimates for the most important effects and demonstrate experimentally the strong influence of acoustic vibrations. Since the effects of inertial forces get increasingly important for the interferometry with more massive particles they have to be identified and compensated in future experiments.