attenuation and the phase shift of a sodium matter wave that passes through monatomic
(He, Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe) or molecular gases (N 2, CO 2, NH 3, and H 2 O). This determines
the complex index of refraction for Na matter waves and, more accurately, the ratio of the
real to the imaginary part of the forward scattering amplitude. These measurements are
compared with several semiclassical scattering models.