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Measurement of the Wigner function of an ensemble of helium atoms

Abstract

Beams of atoms can exhibit interference and diffraction phenomena just like waves of light. For a coherent beam of helium atoms in a double-slit experiment, measurements of the quantum-mechanical analogue of the classical phase-space distribution function show that the motion of atoms behaves in a strongly non-classical manner.

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Kurtsiefer, C., Pfau, T. & Mlynek, J. Measurement of the Wigner function of an ensemble of helium atoms. Nature 386, 150–153 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/386150a0

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