Light scattering by matter waves

Through the work developed in this project we aim at gaining insight into the dynamics of photon interaction with matter waves, by pursuing 1) The study of the coherence properties of light scattered by few cold atoms, in the regime in which the size of the wave packet is extended and, in presence of more than one atom, the quantum statistics is relevant. 2) The studyof the effects of the collective excitations of the atomic gas on the interaction with light and on the state of the scattered photons. We will consider collective effects such as hydrodynamic excitations of a Bose-Eisntein condensate, solitonic excitations, and dipole-dipole interaction