227 research outputs found
Correlations and Counting Statistics of an Atom Laser
We demonstrate time-resolved counting of single atoms extracted from a weakly
interacting Bose-Einstein condensate of Rb atoms. The atoms are detected
with a high-finesse optical cavity and single atom transits are identified. An
atom laser beam is formed by continuously output coupling atoms from the
Bose-Einstein condensate. We investigate the full counting statistics of this
beam and measure its second order correlation function in a
Hanbury Brown and Twiss type experiment. For the monoenergetic atom laser we
observe a constant correlation function and an atom
number distribution close to a Poissonian statistics. A pseudo-thermal atomic
beam shows a bunching behavior and a Bose distributed counting statistics
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