Matter-wave lensing of ultracold atomic gases by interaction quenching via two-photon scattering

Precision quantum sensors using cold atom interferometers with long interrogation times are often limited by the ballistic expansion of atomic samples after release from traps, manifesting by means of laser beam wavefront uncertainties. In this study we utilize near-resonant light interacting with an ultracold atomic sample for collective-mode excitation of a ⁸⁷Rb Bose Einstein condensate (BEC) in a magnetic trap. The collective motion is initiated after abruptly modifying the atom-atom interaction energy by reduction of the BEC atom number density via photon scattering using the two-photon transition from \(5S_{1/2}\) to \(5D_{5/2}\). We show that the two-photon transition can induce matter-wave lensing of the atomic cloud with minimal center-of-mass perturbation providing an optimal ultra-cold atomic sample for atom-based quantum sensors such as quantum gravimeters and accelerometers.