Abstract
We report the reflection and focusing of a Bose-Einstein condensate by a pulsed magnetic mirror. The mirror is adaptive, inelastic, and has extremely high optical quality. Deviations from specularity are below 1 mrad rms — almost an order of magnitude better than other atomic mirrors. The mirror has been used to realize the atom-optical analog of a beam expander, producing an ultracold collimated fountain of matter waves. The results of these experiments are in good agreement with simple theoretical models.
- Received 28 March 2001
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.65.031601
©2002 American Physical Society
