New Light on Quantum Transport

JUL 01, 1997

Atoms moving in an accelerating optical lattice exhibit quantum behavior such as Bloch oscillations, Wannier‐Stark ladders and tunneling—phenomena usually associated with electrons in a crystalline solid.

DOI: 10.1063/1.881845

Mark Raizen

Christophe Salomon

Qian Niu

Cosider the following Experiment: Take a carton of eggs, open the lid and accelerate the carton with a sudden jerk. If you try this at home, you will find that the outcome strongly depends on the magnitude of the acceleration (the authors are not responsible for the results).

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More about the Authors

Mark Raizen. University of Texas, Austin.

Christophe Salomon. Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris.

Qian Niu. University of Texas, Austin.