Experimental proposal for measuring the Gouy phase of matter waves

The Schrödinger equation for an atomic beam predicts that it must have a phase anomaly near the beam waist analogous to the Gouy phase of an electromagnetic beam. We propose here a feasible experiment that allows for direct determination of this anomalous phase using Ramsey interferometry with Rydberg atoms. Possible experimental limitations are discussed, and shown to be completely under control within present-day technology. We also discuss how this finding can open the possibility of using the spatial mode wavefunctions of atoms as q-dits, since the Gouy phase is an essential ingredient for making rotations in the quantum states. (paper)