Magnetic coherence gratings in a high-flux atomic beam

Magnetic coherence gratings have been created in a thermal beam of rubidium atoms. The coherence gratings involve superposition of magnetic sublevels of a single hyperfine ground state. These gratings are created via interaction with a single pulse that drives a two-photon transition between magnetic sublevels of the ground state. After the grating dephases due to the velocity distribution of the atoms, it is revived by the action of a second pulse, an effect that is similar to a photon echo. Such experiment is a first step toward generating periodic atomic structures using a high-flux atomic beam. Here, we present the experimental results and provide a detailed description of the apparatus that produces a high flux beam of thermal rubidium atoms.