Light Forces and Atom Diffraction — An Illustrated Summary

Abstract

Study of the transfer of momentum to atoms by radiation offers a new research approach to one of the oldest and most fundamental problems in physics — the interaction of radiation and matter. In the last decade, a number of theorists have been attracted to this research area because of its intrinsic importance and conceptual simplicity, and because of its relevance to a number of other areas of current theoretical concern including: atoms in intense radiation fields, dressed atoms, multi-photon processes, temporal correlations in spontaneous decay (eg. photon bunching), the incorporation of randomness into quantum mechanical formalisms, cooling and heating by radiation, and the slowing, manipulation, and confinement of atoms using radiative forces.