A Quantum Ruler for Magnetic Deflectometry

Entropy (Basel). 2018 Jul 9;20(7):516. doi: 10.3390/e20070516.

Abstract

Matter-wave near-field interference can imprint a nano-scale fringe pattern onto a molecular beam, which allows observing its shifts in the presence of even very small external forces. Here we demonstrate quantum interference of the pre-vitamin 7-dehydrocholesterol and discuss the conceptual challenges of magnetic deflectometry in a near-field interferometer as a tool to explore photochemical processes within molecules whose center of mass is quantum delocalized.

Keywords: magnetic deflectometry; matter-waves; metrology; molecule interference; photochemistry.