Diffractive focusing of a uniform Boseâ€"Einstein condensate.

We propose a straightforward implementation of the phenomenon of diffractive focusing with uniform atomic Boseâ€"Einstein condensates. Both, analytical as well as numerical methods not only illustrate the influence of the atomâ€"atom interaction on the focusing factor and the focus time, but also allow us to derive the optimal conditions for observing focusing of this type in the case of interacting matter waves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]