Kapitza-Dirac effect

P.E. Moskowitz, P.L. Gould, S.R- Atlas, D.E. Pritchard Diffraction of an atomic beam by standing-wave radiation. Phys. Rev. Lett. 51, 370 (1983) P.L. Gould, G.A. Ruff, D.E. Pritchard Diffraction of atoms by light The near-resonant Kapitza-Dirac effect. Phys. Rev. Lett. 59, 827 (1986)... 

Leaving aside the important problem of interaction between ultrahigh-intensity femtosecond laser pulses and relativistic electrons, we shall consider below only the effects involved in the control of non relativistic electrons, such as coherent diffraction, deflection, focusing, and reflection. The diffraction of an electron beam by a standing light wave (the Kapitza-Dirac effect, Kapitza and Dirac 1933) is essentially the earliest proposal for the control of matter by light. 

Fig. 13.6 General idea of an experiment to observe the Kapitza-Dirac effect.

Gould, P. I., Ruff, G.A., and Pritchard, D. E. (1986). Diffraction of atoms by light the near-resonant Kapitza-Dirac effect. Physical Review Letters, 56, 827-830. Goy, P., Raimond, J. M., Gross, M., and Haroche, S. (1983). Observation of cavity-enhanced single-atom spontaneous emission. Physical Review Letters, 50, 1903-1906. 

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