Spin dependent inelastic collisions between metastable state two-electron atoms and ground state alkali-atoms

Experimentally the spin dependence of inelastic collisions between ytterbium (Yb) in the metastable 3P0 state and lithium (Li) in the Li ground state manifold is investigated at low magnetic fields. Using selective excitation all magnetic sublevels mJ of 174Yb(3P0) are accessed and four of the six lowest lying magnetic sublevels of 6Li are prepared by optical pumping. On the one hand, mJ-independence of collisions involving Li(F=1/2) atoms is found. A systematic mJ-dependence in collisions with Li(F=3/2) atoms, in particular suppressed losses for stretched collisional states, is observed on the other hand. Further, mJ-changing processes are found to be of minor relevance. The span of observed inelastic collision rates is between 1*10^{-11} cm^3/s and 40*10^{-11} cm^3/s, and a possible origin of the observed behavior is discussed.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

Spectroscopic determination of magnetic-field-dependent interactions in an ultracold Yb(3P2)-Li mixture

We present experimental results on the inelastic and elastic interspecies interactions between ytterbium (Yb) in the metastable ${}^3\mathrm{P}_2$ state loaded into a deep optical lattice and spin polarized lithium (Li) in its ground state. Focusing on the $m_J = 0$ magnetic sublevel of Yb(${}^3\mathrm{P}_2$), bias magnetic fields between 20 G and 800 G are investigated and significantly enhanced inelastic collision rates with high magnetic fields are found. In addition, by direct spectroscopy of the Yb Mott-insulator immersed in the Li Fermi gas an upper boundary of the background scattering length of the Yb(${}^3\mathrm{P}_2, m_J=0$)-Li(${}^2\mathrm{S}_{1/2}, F=1/2, m_F=+1/2$) system is estimated, revealing the absence of useful Feshbach resonances. These observations are qualitatively consistent with the theoretical calculations.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

Experimental realization of ultracold Yb-7Li^{7}{\rm Li} mixtures in mixed dimensions

We report on the experimental realization of ultracold $^{174}{\rm Yb}$-$^{7}{\rm Li}$ (Boson-Boson) and $^{173}{\rm Yb}$-$^{7}{\rm Li}$ (Fermion-Boson) mixtures. They are loaded into three dimensional (3D) or one dimensional (1D) optical lattices that are species-selectively deep for the heavy Ytterbium (Yb) and shallow for the light bosonic Lithium (Li) component, realizing novel mixed dimensional systems. In the 1D optical lattice the band structure of $^{173}{\rm Yb}$ is reconstructed in the presence of $^{7}{\rm Li}$. Spectroscopic measurements of the $^{174}{\rm Yb}$-$^{7}{\rm Li}$ mixture in the 3D lattice give access to the $^{174}{\rm Yb}$ Mott-insulator structure. Ground state inter-species scattering lengths are determined to be $|a_{\rm bg}(^{174}{\rm Yb}$-$^{7}{\rm Li})|=(1.11 \pm 0.17)~{\rm nm}$ and $|a_{\rm bg}(^{173}{\rm Yb}$-$^{7}{\rm Li})|=(1.16 \pm 0.18)~{\rm nm}$. The formation and characterization of an ultracold $^{173}{\rm Yb}$-$^{7}{\rm Li}$ mixture is a first step towards a possible realization of a topological $p_x + i\,p_y$ superfluid in this system

Guides d'ondes à modes lents et atomes froids : vers une plateforme polyvalente d'électrodynamique quantique en guide d'onde

Novel platforms interfacing trapped cold atoms and guided light in nanoscale waveguides are a promising route to achieve a regime of strong coupling between light and atoms in single pass, with applications to quantum non-linear optics and quantum simulation. This thesis focuses on the design, fabrication and implementation of such a hybrid experimental platform interfacing slow light from photonic-crystal waveguides with cold Rubidium atoms trapped in their vicinity. The slow guided modes from the waveguides should enhance the interaction between light and matter compared to free space or nanofiber-based existing platforms, making it conducive for Waveguide quantum electrodynamics (QED) protocols. Emphasizing the need for resilience against fabrication imperfections, we design three different high-index waveguides that allow for efficient light-matter interaction and evanescent dipole trapping of atoms close to their surface. Subsequently, we then detail our versatile cold atom experimental setup, specifically built for integrating these structures and delivering atoms to their surfaces using higher-order tweezers, and report initial experimental results. This work paves the way for hybrid Waveguide QED platforms with cold atoms which could serve as valuable resources for simulating Ising-like Hamiltonians or variational quantum computing.Les récentes plateformes expérimentales qui combinent atomes froids et guides d'ondes nanométriques offrent une approche prometteuse pour atteindre un régime de couplage fort entre lumière et atomes en simple passage. Cette thèse porte sur la conception, la fabrication et la mise en œuvre d’une telle plateforme hybride permettant d’interfacer la lumière lente de guides d’ondes à cristaux photoniques avec des atomes de Rubidium froids piégés à proximité de leur surface. Les modes lents de ces guides doivent permettre une interaction lumière-matière renforcée par rapport aux systèmes existants en espace libre ou avec une nanofibre, ce qui rend cette nouvelle plateforme propice à la mise en place de protocoles d’électrodynamique quantique en guide d’onde. En portant une attention particulière à la robustesse des structures face aux imperfections de fabrication, nous proposons trois designs innovants de guides d’ondes à fort indice de réfraction permettant une interaction lumière-matière efficace ainsi que la mise en place de pièges dipolaires évanescents pour maintenir les atomes proches de leur surface. Nous décrivons ensuite le dispositif expérimental construit pour produire un nuage d’atomes froids, conçu pour intégrer de tels guides nanofabriqués et en approcher les atomes à l’aide de pinces optiques réalisées avec des modes optiques d’ordres supérieurs. Ce travail ouvre la voie à de futures plateformes d’électrodynamique quantique en guide d’onde avec des atomes froids qui pourraient constituer des ressources précieuses pour des protocoles d'optique quantique non-linéaire, la simulation quantique ou le calcul quantique variationnel

Ultracold collisions in the Yb-Li mixture system

31st International Conference on Photonic, Electronic and Atomic Collisions (ICPEAC XXXI) 23-30 July 2019, Deauville, FranceWe report our experimental results on the collisional physics between non-S-state atoms (ytterbium (Yb), effectively a two-electron system, in the metastable ³P₂ state) and S-state atoms (lithium (Li), an alkali metal, in the ground state). At low magnetic fields, by measuring inelastic interspecies collisional losses in the double quantum degenerate mixture we reveal the strong dependence of the inelastic losses on the internal spin states of both species and suppressed losses in stretched state configurations. Increasing the magnetic field up to 800 G we further investigate the magnetic field dependence of the collisional interactions. There, smoothly increasing inelastic losses are observed towards higher fields. The combined knowledge of both the magnetic field and the spin state dependence of the collisional losses of this prototypical mixture system of non-S-state and S-state atoms provides a significant step forward towards controllable impurity physics realized in the Yb-Li ultracold system

Nanotrappy: An open-source versatile package for cold-atom trapping close to nanostructures

Trapping cold neutral atoms in close proximity to nanostructures has raised a large interest in recent years, pushing the frontiers of cavity-QED and boosting the emergence of the waveguide-QED field of research. The design of efficient dipole trapping schemes in evanescent fields is a crucial requirement and a difficult task. Here we present an open-source Python package for calculating optical trapping potentials for neutral atoms, especially in the vicinity of nanostructures. Given field distributions and for a variety of trap configurations, nanotrappy computes the three-dimensional trapping potentials as well as the trap properties, ranging from trap positions to trap frequencies and state-dependent light shifts. We demonstrate the versatility for various seminal structures in the field, e.g., optical nanofiber, alligator slow-mode photonic-crystal waveguide, and microtoroid. This versatile package facilitates the systematic design of structures and provides a full characterization of trapping potentials with applications to the coherent manipulation of atoms and quantum information science

Ultracold collisions in the Yb-Li mixture system

We report our experimental results on the collisional physics between non-S-state atoms (ytterbium (Yb), effectively a two-electron system, in the metastable ${}^3\mathrm{P}_2$ state) and S-state atoms (lithium (Li), an alkali metal, in the ground state). At low magnetic fields, by measuring inelastic interspecies collisional losses in the double quantum degenerate mixture we reveal the strong dependence of the inelastic losses on the internal spin states of both species and suppressed losses in stretched state configurations. Increasing the magnetic field up to 800 G we further investigate the magnetic field dependence of the collisional interactions. There, smoothly increasing inelastic losses are observed towards higher fields. The combined knowledge of both the magnetic field and the spin state dependence of the collisional losses of this prototypical mixture system of non-S-state and S-state atoms provides a significant step forward towards controllable impurity physics realized in the Yb-Li ultracold system.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

Systematic design of a robust half-W1 photonic crystal waveguide for interfacing slow light and trapped cold atoms

Novel platforms interfacing trapped cold atoms and guided light in nanoscale waveguides are a promising route to achieve a regime of strong coupling between light and atoms in single pass, with applications to quantum non-linear optics and quantum simulation. A strong challenge for the experimental development of this emerging waveguide-QED field of research is to combine facilitated optical access for atom transport, atom trapping via guided modes and robustness to inherent nanofabrication imperfections. In this endeavor, here we propose to interface Rubidium atoms with a photonic crystal waveguide based on a large-index GaInP slab. With a specifically tailored half-W1 design, we show that a large coupling to the waveguide can be obtained and guided modes can be used to form two-color dipole traps for atoms at about 100 nm from the edge of the structure. This optimized device should greatly improve the level of experimental control and facilitate the atom integration

Asymmetric comb waveguide for strong interactions between atoms and light

Coupling quantum emitters and nanostructures, in particular cold atoms and waveguides, has recently raised a large interest due to unprecedented possibilities of engineering light-matter interactions. However, the implementation of these promising concepts has been hampered by various theoretical and experimental issues. In this work, we propose a new type of periodic dielectric waveguide that provides strong interactions between atoms and guided photons with an unusual dispersion. We design an asymmetric comb waveguide that supports a slow mode with a quartic (instead of quadratic) dispersion and an electric field that extends far into the air cladding for an optimal interaction with atoms. We compute the optical trapping potential formed with two guided modes at frequencies detuned from the atomic transition. We show that cold Rubidium atoms can be trapped as close as 100 nm from the structure in a 1.3-mK-deep potential well. For atoms trapped at this position, the emission into guided photons is largely favored, with a beta factor as high as 0.88 and a radiative decay rate into the slow mode 10 times larger than the free-space decay rate