Observation of Feshbach resonances in an ultracold gas of 52{}^{52}Cr

We have observed Feshbach resonances in elastic collisions between ultracold ${}^{52}$Cr atoms. This is the first observation of collisional Feshbach resonances in an atomic species with more than one valence electron. The zero nuclear spin of ${}^{52}$Cr and thus the absence of a Fermi-contact interaction leads to regularly-spaced resonance sequences. By comparing resonance positions with multi-channel scattering calculations we determine the s-wave scattering length of the lowest $^{2S+1}\Sigma_{g}^{+}$ potentials to be \unit[112(14)]{a_0}, \unit[58(6)]{a_0} and -\unit[7(20)]{a_0} for S=6, 4, and 2, respectively, where a_{0}=\unit[0.0529]{nm}.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, 1 tabl

Laser cooling of a magnetically guided ultra cold atom beam

We report on the transverse laser cooling of a magnetically guided beam of ultra cold chromium atoms. Radial compression by a tapering of the guide is employed to adiabatically heat the beam. Inside the tapered section heat is extracted from the atom beam by a two-dimensional optical molasses perpendicular to it, resulting in a significant increase of atomic phase space density. A magnetic offset field is applied to prevent optical pumping to untrapped states. Our results demonstrate that by a suitable choice of the magnetic offset field, the cooling beam intensity and detuning, atom losses and longitudinal heating can be avoided. Final temperatures below 65 microkelvin have been achieved, corresponding to an increase of phase space density in the guided beam by more than a factor of 30.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

The effect of light assisted collisions on matter wave coherence in superradiant Bose-Einstein condensates

We investigate experimentally the effects of light assisted collisions on the coherence between momentum states in Bose-Einstein condensates. The onset of superradiant Rayleigh scattering serves as a sensitive monitor for matter wave coherence. A subtle interplay of binary and collective effects leads to a profound asymmetry between the two sides of the atomic resonance and provides far bigger coherence loss rates for a condensate bathed in blue detuned light than previously estimated. We present a simplified quantitative model containing the essential physics to explain our experimental data and point at a new experimental route to study strongly coupled light matter systems.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Collective Electronic Excitation Coupling between Planar Optical Lattices using Ewald's Method

Using Ewald's summation method we investigate collective electronic excitations (excitons) of ultracold atoms in parallel planar optical lattices including long range interactions. The exciton dispersion relation can then be suitably rewritten and efficiently calculated for long range resonance dipole-dipole interactions. Such in-plane excitons resonantly couple for two identical optical lattices, with an energy transfer strength decreasing exponentially with the distance between the lattices. This allows a restriction of the transfer to neighboring planes and gives rise to excitons delocalized between the lattices. In general equivalent results will hold for any planar system containing lattice layers of optically active and dipolar materials.Comment: 6 pages, and 7 figure

Optimized loading of an optical dipole trap for the production of Chromium BECs

We report on a strategy to maximize the number of chromium atoms transferred from a magneto-optical trap into an optical trap through accumulation in metastable states via strong optical pumping. We analyse how the number of atoms in a chromium Bose Einstein condensate can be raised by a proper handling of the metastable state populations. Four laser diodes have been implemented to address the four levels that are populated during the MOT phase. The individual importance of each state is specified. To stabilize two of our laser diode, we have developed a simple ultrastable passive reference cavity whose long term stability is better than 1 MHz

Radiating and non-radiating sources in elasticity

In this work, we study the inverse source problem of a fixed frequency for the Navier's equation. We investigate that nonradiating external forces. If the support of such a force has a convex or non-convex corner or edge on their boundary, the force must be vanishing there. The vanishing property at corners and edges holds also for sufficiently smooth transmission eigenfunctions in elasticity. The idea originates from the enclosure method: The energy identity and new type exponential solutions for the Navier's equation.Comment: 17 page

Effect of Quadratic Zeeman Energy on the Vortex of Spinor Bose-Einstein Condensates

The spinor Bose-Einstein condensate of atomic gases has been experimentally realized by a number of groups. Further, theoretical proposals of the possible vortex states have been sugessted. This paper studies the effects of the quadratic Zeeman energy on the vortex states. This energy was ignored in previous theoretical studies, although it exists in experimental systems. We present phase diagrams of various vortex states taking into account the quadratic Zeeman energy. The vortex states are calculated by the Gross-Pitaevskii equations. Several new kinds of vortex states are found. It is also found that the quadratic Zeeman energy affects the direction of total magnetization and causes a significant change in the phase diagrams.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures. Published in J. Phys. Soc. Jp

Free Expansion of a Weakly-interacting Dipolar Fermi Gas

We theoretically investigate a polarized dipolar Fermi gas in free expansion. The inter-particle dipolar interaction deforms phase-space distribution in trap and also in the expansion. We exactly predict the minimal quadrupole deformation in the expansion for the high-temperature Maxwell-Boltzmann and zero-temperature Thomas-Fermi gases in the Hartree-Fock and Landau-Vlasov approaches. In conclusion, we provide a proper approach to develop the time-of-flight method for the weakly-interacting dipolar Fermi gas and also reveal a scaling law associated with the Liouville's theorem in the long-time behaviors of the both gases