Young-Type Interferences With Electrons ― Basics and Theoretical Challenges in Molecular Collision Systems

Since the discovery that atomic-size particles can be described as waves, many interference experiments have been realized with electrons to demonstrate their wave behavior. In this book, after describing the different steps that led to the present knowledge, we focus on the strong link existing between photon and electron interferences, highlighting the similarities and the differences. For example, the atomic centers of a hydrogen molecule are used to mimic the slits in the Young's famous interference experiment with light. We show, however, that the basic time-dependent ionization theories that describe these Young-type electron interferences are not able to reproduce the experiment. This crucial point remains a real challenge for theoreticians in atomic collision physics.

Francois Fremont and Jean-Yves Chesnel are both teachers in Physics at the University of Caen and researchers at CIMAP (Centre de Recherche sur les Ions, les Materiaux et la Photonique) in Caen (France). Their research field concerns ion-atom and ion-molecule collisions. Presently, they mainly focus their effort on electron interference phenomena at the atomic scale.

Raul O. Barrachina is Head of the Department of Interaction of Radiation with Matter at the Bariloche Atomic Centre and Professor at the Balseiro Institute, Argentina, of which he was director from 2003 to 2006. His area of research is theoretical atomic and molecular physics, with special interest in atomic collisions. He is a fellow of the Institute of Physics (GB).