2 research outputs found
Cold atoms near superconductors: Atomic spin coherence beyond the Johnson noise limit
We report on the measurement of atomic spin coherence near the surface of a
superconducting niobium wire. As compared to normal conducting metal surfaces,
the atomic spin coherence is maintained for time periods beyond the Johnson
noise limit. The result provides experimental evidence that magnetic near field
noise near the superconductor is strongly suppressed. Such long atomic spin
coherence times near superconductors open the way towards the development of
coherently coupled cold atom / solid state hybrid quantum systems with
potential applications in quantum information processing and precision force
sensing.Comment: Major revisions of the text for submission to New Journal of Physics
8 pages, 4 figure
Trapping of ultra-cold atoms with the magnetic field of vortices in a thin film superconducting micro-structure
We store and control ultra-cold atoms in a new type of trap using magnetic
fields of vortices in a high temperature superconducting micro-structure. This
is the first time ultra-cold atoms have been trapped in the field of magnetic
flux quanta. We generate the attractive trapping potential for the atoms by
combining the magnetic field of a superconductor in the remanent state with
external homogeneous magnetic fields. We show the control of crucial atom trap
characteristics such as an efficient intrinsic loading mechanism, spatial
positioning of the trapped atoms and the vortex density in the superconductor.
The measured trap characteristics are in good agreement with our numerical
simulations.Comment: 4pages, comments are welcom