Heteronuclear collisions between laser-cooled metastable neon atoms

We investigate heteronuclear collisions in isotope mixtures of laser-cooled metastable 3P2 neon. Experiments are performed with spin-polarized atoms in a magnetic trap for all two-isotope combinations of the stable neon isotopes 20Ne, 21Ne, and 22Ne. We determine the rate coefficients for heteronuclear ionizing collisions to beta_{21,20}=(3.9+/-2.7) x 10^{-11} cm^3/s, beta_{22,20}=(2.6+/-0.7) x 10^{-11} cm^3/s, and beta_{21,22}=(3.9+/-1.9) x 10^{-11} cm^3/s. We also study heteronuclear elastic collision processes and give upper bounds for heteronuclear thermal relaxation cross sections. This work significantly extends the limited available experimental data on heteronuclear ionizing collisions for laser-cooled atoms involving one or more rare gas atoms in a metastable state

Coherent injecting, extracting, and velocity filtering of neutral atoms in a ring trap via spatial adiabatic passage

We introduce here a coherent technique to inject, extract, and velocity filter neutral atoms in a ring trap coupled via tunneling to two additional waveguides. By adiabatically following the transverse spatial dark state, the proposed technique allows for an efficient and robust velocity dependent atomic population transfer between the ring and the input/output waveguides. We have derived explicit conditions for the spatial adiabatic passage that depend on the atomic velocity along the input waveguide as well as on the initial population distribution among the transverse vibrational states. The validity of our proposal has been checked by numerical integration of the corresponding two dimensional Schr\"odinger equation with state-of-the-art parameter values for $^{87}$Rb atoms and an optical dipole ring trap.Comment: To be published in European Physical Journal

Switchable Magnetic Bottles and Field Gradients for Particle Traps

Versatile methods for the manipulation of individual quantum systems, such as confined particles, have become central elements in current developments in precision spectroscopy, frequency standards, quantum information processing, quantum simulation, and alike. For atomic and some subatomic particles, both neutral and charged, a precise control of magnetic fields is essen- tial. In this paper, we discuss possibilities for the creation of specific magnetic field configurations which find appli- cation in these areas. In particular, we pursue the idea of a magnetic bottle which can be switched on and off by transition between the normal and the superconducting phase of a suitable material in cryogenic environments, for example in trap experiments in moderate magnetic fields. Methods for a fine-tuning of the magnetic field and its linear and quadratic components in a trap are presented together with possible applications

Half-open Penning trap with efficient light collection for precision laser spectroscopy of highly charged ions

We have conceived, built and operated a 'half-open' cylindrical Penning trap for the confinement and laser spectroscopy of highly charged ions. This trap allows fluorescence detection employing a solid angle which is about one order of magnitude larger than in conventional cylindrical Penning traps. At the same time, the desired electrostatic and magnetostatic properties of a closed-endcap cylindrical Penning trap are preserved in this congfiuration. We give a detailed account on the design and confinement properties, a characterization of the trap and show first results of light collection with in-trap produced highly charged ions

Filtering of matter wave vibrational states via spatial adiabatic passage

We discuss the filtering of the vibrational states of a cold atom in an optical trap, by chaining this trap with two empty ones and controlling adiabatically the tunneling. Matter wave filtering is performed by selectively transferring the population of the highest populated vibrational state to the most distant trap while the population of the rest of the states remains in the initial trap. Analytical conditions for two-state filtering are derived and then applied to an arbitrary number of populated bound states. Realistic numerical simulations close to state-of-the-art experimental arrangements are performed by modeling the triple well with time dependent P\"oschl-Teller potentials. In addition to filtering of vibrational states, we discuss applications for quantum tomography of the initial population distribution and engineering of atomic Fock states that, eventually, could be used for tunneling assisted evaporative cooling.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure