310 research outputs found
Continuous loading of S calcium atoms into an optical dipole trap
We demonstrate an efficient scheme for continuous trap loading based upon
spatially selective optical pumping. We discuss the case of S
calcium atoms in an optical dipole trap (ODT), however, similar strategies
should be applicable to a wide range of atomic species. Our starting point is a
reservoir of moderately cold (K) metastable
P-atoms prepared by means of a magneto-optic trap (triplet-MOT). A
focused 532 nm laser beam produces a strongly elongated optical potential for
S-atoms with up to 350 K well depth. A weak focused laser beam
at 430 nm, carefully superimposed upon the ODT beam, selectively pumps the
P-atoms inside the capture volume to the singlet state, where they
are confined by the ODT. The triplet-MOT perpetually refills the capture volume
with P-atoms thus providing a continuous stream of cold atoms into
the ODT at a rate of s. Limited by evaporation loss, in 200 ms we
typically load atoms with an initial radial temperature of 85
K. After terminating the loading we observe evaporation during 50 ms
leaving us with atoms at radial temperatures close to 40 K and a
peak phase space density of . We point out that a
comparable scheme could be employed to load a dipole trap with
P-atoms.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Flavin-dependent substrate photo-oxidation as a chemical model of dehydrogenase action
High-order optical nonlinearity at low light levels
We observe a nonlinear optical process in a gas of cold atoms that
simultaneously displays the largest reported fifth-order nonlinear
susceptibility \chi^(5) = 1.9x10^{-12} (m/V)^4 and high transparency. The
nonlinearity results from the simultaneous cooling and crystallization of the
gas, and gives rise to efficient Bragg scattering in the form of
six-wave-mixing at low-light-levels. For large atom-photon coupling strengths,
the back-action of the scattered fields influences the light-matter dynamics.
This system may have important applications in many-body physics, quantum
information processing, and multidimensional soliton formation.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Whispering gallery mode resonator based ultra-narrow linewidth external cavity semiconductor laser
We demonstrate a miniature self-injection locked DFB laser using resonant
optical feedback from a high-Q crystalline whispering gallery mode resonator.
The linewidth reduction factor is greater than 10,000, with resultant
instantaneous linewidth less than 200 Hz. The minimal value of the Allan
deviation for the laser frequency stability is 3x10^(-12) at the integration
time of 20 us. The laser possesses excellent spectral purity and good long term
stability.Comment: To be published in Optics Letter
Orbital superfluidity in the -band of a bipartite optical square lattice
The successful emulation of the Hubbard model in optical lattices has
stimulated world wide efforts to extend their scope to also capture more
complex, incompletely understood scenarios of many-body physics. Unfortunately,
for bosons, Feynmans fundamental "no-node" theorem under very general
circumstances predicts a positive definite ground state wave function with
limited relevance for many-body systems of interest. A promising way around
Feynmans statement is to consider higher bands in optical lattices with more
than one dimension, where the orbital degree of freedom with its intrinsic
anisotropy due to multiple orbital orientations gives rise to a structural
diversity, highly relevant, for example, in the area of strongly correlated
electronic matter. In homogeneous two-dimensional optical lattices, lifetimes
of excited bands on the order of a hundred milliseconds are possible but the
tunneling dynamics appears not to support cross-dimensional coherence. Here we
report the first observation of a superfluid in the -band of a bipartite
optical square lattice with -orbits and -orbits arranged in a
chequerboard pattern. This permits us to establish full cross-dimensional
coherence with a life-time of several ten milliseconds. Depending on a small
adjustable anisotropy of the lattice, we can realize real-valued striped
superfluid order parameters with different orientations or a
complex-valued order parameter, which breaks time reversal
symmetry and resembles the -flux model proposed in the context of high
temperature superconductors. Our experiment opens up the realms of orbital
superfluids to investigations with optical lattice models.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Cold atoms in a high-Q ring-cavity
We report the confinement of large clouds of ultra-cold 85-Rb atoms in a
standing-wave dipole trap formed by the two counter-propagating modes of a
high-Q ring-cavity. Studying the properties of this trap we demonstrate loading
of higher-order transverse cavity modes and excite recoil-induced resonances.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
High-resolution Resonance Bragg-scattering spectroscopy of an atomic transition from a population difference grating in a vapor cell
The laser spectroscopy with a narrow linewidth and high signal to noise ratio
(S/N) is very important in the precise measurement of optical frequencies.
Here, we present a novel high-resolution backward resonance Bragg-scattering
(RBS) spectroscopy from a population difference grating (PDG). The PDG is
formed by a standing-wave (SW) pump field in thermal 87Rb vapor, which
periodically modulates the space population distribution of two levels in the
87Rb D1 line. A probe beam, having the identical frequency and the orthogonal
polarization with the SW pump field, is Bragg-scattered by the PDG. Such
Bragg-scattered light becomes stronger at an atomic resonance transition, which
forms the RBS spectrum with a high S/N and sub-natural linewidth. Using the
scheme of the coherent superposition of the individual Rayleigh-scattered light
emitted from the atomic dipole oscillators on the PDG, the experimentally
observed RBS spectroscopy is theoretically explained.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figure
Scaling properties of cavity-enhanced atom cooling
We extend an earlier semiclassical model to describe the dissipative motion
of N atoms coupled to M modes inside a coherently driven high-finesse cavity.
The description includes momentum diffusion via spontaneous emission and cavity
decay. Simple analytical formulas for the steady-state temperature and the
cooling time for a single atom are derived and show surprisingly good agreement
with direct stochastic simulations of the semiclassical equations for N atoms
with properly scaled parameters. A thorough comparison with standard free-space
Doppler cooling is performed and yields a lower temperature and a cooling time
enhancement by a factor of M times the square of the ratio of the atom-field
coupling constant to the cavity decay rate. Finally it is shown that laser
cooling with negligible spontaneous emission should indeed be possible,
especially for relatively light particles in a strongly coupled field
configuration.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure
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