Interferometric approaches to atom-surface van der Waals interactions in atomic mirrors - art. no. 013603

We analyze the possibilities of approaching atom-surface interactions throu gh their contribution to the atomic matter de Broglie wave phase, in an int erferometer based on an evanescent light atomic mirror. The surface interac tions produce an additional phase shift that is evaluated to a few times pi for a neon atom in a metastable state. We propose and investigate an exper imental procedure that uses the principles of polarization (for instance, S tem-Gerlach) interferometers in order to monitor these long-range interacti ons (van der Waals, Casimir-Polder, etc.) between a ground-state or metasta ble-state atom and either a metallic or a dielectric surface. Our approach gives access to thr differential phase shift between Zeeman sublevels, and should then be sensitive to an eventual anisotropy of the atom-surface inte raction.