interferometer

Scientists at the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI) have observed, for the first time, interference between particles of light created using a trapped ion and a collection of neutral atoms. Their results could be an essential step toward the realization of a distributed network of quantum computers capable of processing information in novel ways.

 It’s easy to contemplate the wave nature of light in common experience.  White light passing through a prism spreads out into constituent colors; it diffracts from atmospheric moisture into a rainbow; light passing across a sharp edge or a diffraction grating creates an interference pattern.  It’s harder to fathom the wave behavior of things usually thought of as particles, such as electrons and atoms.  And yet these matter waves play a role in physics and in technology.  For example, electron beams, manifested as waves, provide an important form of microscopy.
Neutrons, a basic constituent of atomic nuclei, have wave properties which are employed in a variety of research areas such as determining the structure of materials.  A recent experiment provides a new handle for control of neutrons by demonstrating that a quantum variable called orbital angular momentum is accessible in beams of neutron waves, and that it can be manipulated for use in neutron imaging and quantum information processing.