Gc. Hegerfeldt et T. Kohler, Deviations from classical optics in matter diffraction and determination of the size of weakly bound molecules - art. no. 023606, PHYS REV A, 6102(2), 2000, pp. 3606
In atom optics, optical wave theory has been very successful in describing
the diffraction of atoms by microfabricated structures. For a molecule, how
ever, with a binding energy smaller than the kinetic energy and with a non-
negligible diameter, wave optics may no longer be adequate due to the effec
ts of finite size and breakups. To study the role of the two effects we con
sider the diffraction of weakly bound diatomic systems such as the helium d
imer. We find striking deviations from classical optics, in particular from
Babinet's principle, and use the results to clarify the role of finite siz
e and breakups, respectively, in the diffraction from strips, slits, and tr
ansmission gratings. As an application the determination of the He-2 size b
y transmission through holes and by diffraction experiments is investigated
.