Poisson’s spot with molecules

Reisinger, Thomas; Patel, Amil A.; Reingruber, Herbert; Fladischer, Katrin; Ernst, Wolfgang E.; Bracco, Gianangelo; Smith, Henry I.; Holst, Bodil
Peer reviewed, Journal article
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URI
https://hdl.handle.net/1956/5037
Date
2009
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Original version
Physical Review A 79, 053823   https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.79.053823
Abstract
In the Poisson-spot experiment, waves emanating from a source are blocked by a circular obstacle. Due to their positive on-axis interference an image of the source the Poisson spot is observed within the geometrical shadow of the obstacle. In this paper we report the observation of Poisson’s spot using a beam of neutral deuterium molecules. The wavelength independence and the weak constraints on angular alignment and position of the circular obstacle make Poisson’s spot a promising candidate for applications ranging from the study of large molecule diffraction to patterning with molecules.
Publisher
The American Physical Society
Copyright
Copyright The American Physical Society. All rights reserved.