Physics Commons^™

Free Electron Sources And Diffraction In Time, Eric R. Jones

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The quantum revolution of the last century advanced synergistically with technology, for example, with control of the temporal and spatial coherence, and the polarization state of light. Indeed, experimental confirmation of the quirks of quantum theory, as originally highlighted by Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen, through Bohm, and then Bell, have been performed with photons, i.e., electromagnetic wave packets prepared in the same quantum states. Experimental tests of quantum mechanics with matter wave packets have been limited due to challenges in preparing all of the packets with similar quantum states. While great strides have been made for trapped atoms and Bose-Einstein …

Electron Matter Interferometry And The Electron Double-Slit Experiment, Roger Bach

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Quantum mechanics has fundamentally changed the way scientists think about the world. Quantum mechanical theory has found it's way into our everyday lives through advances in technology. In this dissertation a fundamental quantum mechanical demonstration and the technological development of a new quantum mechanical device are presented.

Double-slit diffraction is a corner stone of quantum mechanics. It illustrates key features of quantum mechanics: interference and the particle-wave duality of matter. Here we demonstrate the full realization of Richard Feynman's famous thought experiment. By placing a movable mask in front of a double-slit to control the transmission through the individuals slits. …

The Talbot Effect, Malia Kawamura

Honors Theses

The goal of this project is to experimentally investigate the optical Talbot effect and the electron Talbot effect. The Talbot effect is a near-field diffraction effect which occurs when plane waves are incident upon a grating. The Talbot effect creates full grating revivals at integral Talbot lengths and revivals with greater spatial periodicity at fractional Talbot lengths. We use a green helium neon laser and Ronchi rulings to take CCD camera images of the fractional Talbot revivals directly. Additionally, a photodiode records light intensity as a function of time as a second identical grating is moved to verify the presence …

Fourier Series And Optical Transform Techniques In Contemporary Optics: An Introduction, Raymond Wilson, Sean Mccreary

Raymond Wilson