Single atom detection in ultracold quantum gases: a review of current progress

The recent advances in single atom detection and manipulation in experiments with ultracold quantum gases are reviewed. The discussion starts with the basic principles of trapping, cooling and detecting single ions and atoms. The realization of single atom detection in ultracold quantum gases is presented in detail and the employed methods, which are based on light scattering, electron scattering, field ionization and direct neutral particle detection are discussed. The microscopic coherent manipulation of single atoms in a quantum gas is also covered. Various examples are given in order to highlight the power of these approaches to study many-body quantum systems

Scanning electron microscopy of cold gases

Ultracold quantum gases offer unique possibilities to study interacting many-body quantum systems. Probing and manipulating such systems with ever increasing degree of control requires novel experimental techniques. Scanning electron microscopy is a high resolution technique which can be used for in situ imaging, single site addressing in optical lattices and precision density engineering. Here, we review recent advances and achievements obtained with this technique and discuss future perspectives.Comment: Accepted for publication in Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics as a Topical Revie

Dynamically Probing Ultracold Lattice Gases via Rydberg Molecules

We show that the excitation of long-range Rydberg molecules in a three-dimensional optical lattice can be used as a position- and time-sensitive probe of the site occupancy in the system. To this end, we detect the ions which are continuously generated by the decay of the formed Rydberg molecules. While a superfluid gas shows molecule formation for all parameters, a Mott insulator with $n=1$ filling reveals a strong suppression of the number of formed molecules. In the limit of weak probing, the technique can be used to probe the superfluid to Mott-insulator transition in real-time. Our method can be extended to higher fillings and has various applications for the real-time diagnosis and manipulation of ultracold lattice gases.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Experimental realization of a Rydberg optical Feshbach resonance in a quantum many-body system

Feshbach resonances in ultra-cold atomic gases have led to some of the most important advances in atomic physics. They did not only enable ground breaking work in the BEC-BCS crossover regime [1], but are also widely used for the association of ultra-cold molecules [2], leading to the formation of molecular Bose-Einstein condensates [3,4] and ultra-cold dipolar molecular systems [5]. Here, we demonstrate the experimental realization of an optical Feshbach resonance using ultra-long range Rydberg molecules [6]. We show their practical use by tuning the revival time of a quantum many-body system quenched into a deep optical lattice. Our results open up many applications for Rydberg optical Feshbach resonances as ultra-long range Rydberg molecules have a plenitude of available resonances for nearly all atomic species. Among the most intriguing prospects is the engineering of genuine three- and four-body interactions via coupling to trimer and tetramer molecular states [7]

Coherent perfect absorber and laser for nonlinear waves in optical waveguide arrays

A localized non-Hermitian potential can operate as a coherent perfect absorber or as a laser for nonlinear waves. The effect is illustrated for an array of optical waveguides, with the central waveguide being either active or absorbing. The arrays situated to the left and to the right from the center can have different characteristics. The result is generalized to setups with the central waveguide carrying additional nonlinear dissipation or gain and to the two-dimensional arrays with embedded one-dimensional absorbing or lasing sub-arrays.Comment: to appear in Optics Letter

Rydberg molecule-induced remote spin-flips

We have performed high resolution photoassociation spectroscopy of rubidium ultra long-range Rydberg molecules in the vicinity of the 25$P$ state. Due to the hyperfine interaction in the ground state perturber atom, the emerging mixed singlet-triplet potentials contain contributions from both hyperfine states. We show that this can be used to induce remote spin-flips in the perturber atom upon excitation of a Rydberg molecule. When furthermore the spin-orbit splitting of the Rydberg state is comparable to the hyperfine splitting in the ground state, the orbital angular momentum of the Rydberg electron is entangled with the nuclear spin of the perturber atom. Our results open new possibilities for the implementation of spin-dependent interactions for ultracold atoms in bulk systems and in optical lattices.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Non-equilibrium steady-states in a driven-dissipative superfluid

We experimentally study a driven-dissipative Josephson junction array, realized with a weakly interacting Bose Einstein condensate residing in a one-dimensional optical lattice. Engineered losses on one site act as a local dissipative process, while tunneling from the neighboring sites constitutes the driving force. We characterize the emerging steady-states of this atomtronic device. With increasing dissipation strength $\gamma$ the system crosses from a superfluid state, characterized by a coherent Josephson current into the lossy site to a resistive state, characterized by an incoherent hopping transport. For intermediate values of $\gamma$, the system exhibits bistability, where a superfluid and a resistive branch coexist. We also study the relaxation dynamics towards the steady-state, where we find a critical slowing down, indicating the presence of a non-equilibrium phase transition

A high repetition deterministic single ion source

We report on a deterministic single ion source with high repetition rate and high fidelity. The source employs a magneto-optical trap, where ultracold Rubidium atoms are photoionized. The electrons herald the creation of a corresponding ion, whose timing information is used to manipulate its trajectory in flight. We demonstrate an ion rate of up to 40 kHz and achieve a fidelity for single ion operation of 98 %. The technique can be used for all atomic species, which can be laser-cooled, and opens up new applications in ion microscopy, ion implantation and surface spectroscopy

An ultracold heavy Rydberg system formed from ultra-long-range molecules bound in a stairwell potential

We propose a scheme to realize a heavy Rydberg system (HRS), a bound pair of oppositely charged ions, from a gas of ultracold atoms. The intermediate step to achieve large internuclear separations is the creation of a unique class of ultra-long-range Rydberg molecules bound in a stairwell potential energy curve. Here, a ground-state atom is bound to a Rydberg atom in an oscillatory potential emerging due to attractive singlet $p$-wave electron scattering. The utility of our approach originates in the large electronic dipole transition element between the Rydberg- and the ionic molecule, while the nuclear configuration of the ultracold gas is preserved. The Rabi coupling between the Rydberg molecule and the heavy Rydberg system is typically in the MHz range and the permanent electric dipole moments of the HRS can be as large as one kilo-Debye. We identify specific transitions which place the creation of the heavy Rydberg system within immediate reach of experimental realization.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure

High Resolution Imaging of Single Atoms in a Quantum Gas

Our knowledge on ultracold quantum gases is strongly influenced by our ability to probe these objects. In situ imaging combined with single atom sensitivity is an especially appealing scenario as it can provide direct information on the structure and the correlations of such systems. For a precise characterization a high spatial resolution is mandatory. In particular, the perspective to study quantum gases in optical lattices makes a resolution well below one micrometer highly desirable. Here, we report on a novel microscopy technique which is based on scanning electron microscopy and allows for the detection of single atoms inside a quantum gas with a spatial resolution of better than 150 nm. Imaging a Bose-Einstein condensate in a one-dimensional optical lattice with 600 nm period we demonstrate single site addressability in a sub-um optical lattice. The technique offers exciting possibilities for the preparation, manipulation and analysis of quantum gases.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure