In this thesis we present a theoretical analysis of the instability in a cold atom interferometer. Interferometers are often used to split a signal (e.g. optical beam, matter wave), where each part of the signal evolves separately, then the interferometer recombines the signal. Interference effects from the recombination can be used to extract information about the different environments the the split signal traversed. The interferometer considered here splits a matter wave, the wave function of a Bose-Einstein Condensate, by using a guiding potential and then recombines the matter wave. The recombination process is shown to be unstable and the nature of the instability is characterized.

Creator

• Pulido, Daniel

Contributors

• Humi, Mayer

Degree

• MS

Unit

• Mathematical Sciences

Publisher

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Language

• English

Identifier

• etd-0430103-095432

Keyword

• Bose-Einstein Condensation
• Interferometry

Advisor

• Humi, Mayer

Defense date

• 2003-04-30

Year

• 2003

Date created

• 2003-04-30

Resource type

• Thesis

Rights statement

• In Copyright