251 research outputs found
Injection Locking of a Trapped-Ion Phonon Laser
We report on injection locking of optically excited mechanical oscillations of a single, trapped ion. The injection locking dynamics are studied by analyzing the oscillator spectrum with a spatially selective Fourier transform technique and the oscillator phase with stroboscopic imaging. In both cases we find excellent agreement with theory inside and outside the locking range. We attain injection locking with forces as low as 5(1)×10^(-24) N so this system appears promising for the detection of ultraweak oscillating forces
Frequency Metrology on single trapped ions in the weak binding limit: The 3s1/2-3p3/2 transition in 24-Mg+
We demonstrate a method for precision spectroscopy on trapped ions in the
limit of unresolved motional sidebands. By sympathetic cooling of a chain of
crystallized ions we suppress adverse temperature variations induced by the
spectroscopy laser that usually lead to a distorted line profle and obtain a
Voigt profile with negligible distortions. We applied the method to measure the
absolute frequency of the astrophysically relevant D2 transition in single
24-Mg+ ions and find 1072082934.33(16)MHz, a nearly 400fold improvement over
previous results. Further, we find the excited state lifetime to be 3.84(10)
ns.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Sub-milliKelvin spatial thermometry of a single Doppler cooled ion in a Paul trap
We report on observations of thermal motion of a single, Doppler-cooled ion
along the axis of a linear radio-frequency quadrupole trap. We show that for a
harmonic potential the thermal occupation of energy levels leads to Gaussian
distribution of the ion's axial position. The dependence of the spatial thermal
spread on the trap potential is used for precise calibration of our imaging
system's point spread function and sub-milliKelvin thermometry. We employ this
technique to investigate the laser detuning dependence of the Doppler
temperature.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Atomic Interferometer with Amplitude Gratings of Light and its Applications to Atom Based Tests of the Equivalence Principle
We have developed a matter wave interferometer based on the diffraction of
atoms from effective absorption gratings of light. In a setup with cold
rubidium atoms in an atomic fountain the interferometer has been used to carry
out tests of the equivalence principle on an atomic basis. The gravitational
acceleration of the two isotopes 85Rb and 87Rb was compared, yielding a
difference Dg/g =(1.2 +-1.7)x10^{-7}. We also perform a differential free fall
measurement of atoms in two different hyperfine states, and obtained a result
of Dg/g =(0.4 +-1.2)x10^{-7}.Comment: 4 Pages, 4 figures, accepted for Physical Review Letter
Precision spectroscopy of the 3s-3p fine structure doublet in Mg+
We apply a recently demonstrated method for precision spectroscopy on strong
transitions in trapped ions to measure both fine structure components of the
3s-3p transition in 24-Mg+ and 26-Mg+. We deduce absolute frequency reference
data for transition frequencies, isotope shifts and fine structure splittings
that are in particular useful for comparison with quasar absorption spectra,
which test possible space-time variations of the fine structure constant. The
measurement accuracy improves previous literature values, when existing, by
more than two orders of magnitude
Selective excitation of metastable atomic states by femto- and attosecond laser pulses
The possibility of achieving highly selective excitation of low metastable
states of hydrogen and helium atoms by using short laser pulses with reasonable
parameters is demonstrated theoretically. Interactions of atoms with the laser
field are studied by solving the close-coupling equations without
discretization. The parameters of laser pulses are calculated using different
kinds of optimization procedures. For the excitation durations of hundreds of
femtoseconds direct optimization of the parameters of one and two laser pulses
with Gaussian envelopes is used to introduce a number of simple schemes of
selective excitation. To treat the case of shorter excitation durations,
optimal control theory is used and the calculated optimal fields are
approximated by sequences of pulses with reasonable shapes. A new way to
achieve selective excitation of metastable atomic states by using sequences of
attosecond pulses is introduced.Comment: To be published in Phys. Rev. A, 10 pages, 3 figure
An ion-trap phonon laser
Cooling of atoms and ions using a red-detuned laser has had a profound impact on science and technology. In this work simultaneous laser cooling and blue-detuned laser pumping of a Mg+ ion in a Paul trap is studied. Blue-detuned pumping is conventionally referred to as the heating regime, and in early work, remarkably complex behaviors (bistability and limit cycles) have been associated with this regime. These behaviors have so far not been fully explained. Here, it is shown that blue-detuned pumping, as opposed to heating, causes stimulated emission of center-of-mass phonons, leading to coherent oscillatory motion of the ion in analogy with a laser. Mechanical amplification is calculated as well as the threshold pumping condition for oscillation. A single ion in a linear radio-frequency trap is studied to verify these predictions. Blue-detuned pumping of the magnesium D2 transition at 279.6 nm provides amplification along the long axis of the ion trap so as to excite only axial oscillations. A slightly off-axis, red-detuned beam cools the center-of-mass motion to approximately 1 mK
CPT and Lorentz Tests in Hydrogen and Antihydrogen
Signals for CPT and Lorentz violation at the Planck scale may arise in
hydrogen and antihydrogen spectroscopy. We show that certain 1S-2S and
hyperfine transitions can exhibit theoretically detectable effects unsuppressed
by any power of the fine-structure constant.Comment: 4 pages REVTeX, submitted for publicatio
Measuring the temporal coherence of an atom laser beam
We report on the measurement of the temporal coherence of an atom laser beam
extracted from a Rb Bose-Einstein condensate. Reflecting the beam from a
potential barrier creates a standing matter wave structure. From the contrast
of this interference pattern, observed by magnetic resonance imaging, we have
deduced an energy width of the atom laser beam which is Fourier limited by the
duration of output coupling. This gives an upper limit for temporal phase
fluctuations in the Bose-Einstein condensate.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
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