Non-iterative imaging of inhomogeneous cold atom clouds using phase retrieval from a single diffraction measurement.

Area of Science:

• Atomic Physics
• Optical Imaging
• Quantum Optics

Background:

• Conventional single-shot diffractive imaging of cold atoms often assumes a uniform object.
• Quantitative imaging of inhomogeneous atomic clouds is crucial for understanding complex atomic interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a new quantitative imaging technique for inhomogeneous cold atom clouds.
• To enable the recovery of atomic density or refractive index from a single diffraction measurement.

Main Methods:

• Phase retrieval from a single diffraction measurement.
• Utilizing density functional theory concepts to approximate the paraxial diffracted intensity derivative.
• Solving the Transport of Intensity Equation (TIE) for phase recovery.
• Back-propagation to reconstruct the object exit surface wave.

Main Results:

• Successfully imaged inhomogeneous cold atom clouds quantitatively.
• Recovered both phase and amplitude parts of the refractive index for an inhomogeneous cloud.
• Demonstrated good quantitative agreement with conventional techniques for homogeneous clouds.
• Achieved good agreement with theoretical results for inhomogeneous clouds.

Conclusions:

• The developed phase retrieval technique provides quantitative imaging of inhomogeneous cold atom clouds.
• This method allows for the independent determination of atomic density or refractive index.
• The technique offers a significant advancement for studying complex atomic systems.