Quantum Talbot effect for a chain of partially correlated Bose–Einstein condensates

The matter-wave interference picture, which appears within the quantum Talbot effect, changes qualitatively in response to even a small randomness in the phases of the sources. The spatial spectrum acquires peaks which are absent in the case of equal phases. The mathematic model of the effect is presented. The manifestations of the phase randomness in experiments with atomic and molecular Bose–Einstein condensates are discussed. Thermometry based on observable consequences of phase randomness is proposed.