Trapped-atom interferometer in a magnetic microtrap - art. no. 063607

We propose a configuration of a magnetic microtrap that can be used as an i nterferometer for three-dimensionally trapped atoms. The interferometer is realized via a dynamic splitting potential that transforms from a single we ll into two separate wells and back. The ports of the interferometer are ne ighboring vibrational states in the single-well potential. We present a one -dimensional model of this interferometer and compute the probability of un wanted vibrational excitations for a realistic magnetic potential. We optim ize the speed of the splitting process in order to suppress these excitatio ns, and conclude that such interferometer device should be feasible with cu rrently available microtrap technique.