Fully permanent magnet atom chip for Bose-Einstein condensation

We describe a self-biased, fully permanent magnet atom chip used to study ultracold atoms and to produce a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). The magnetic trap is loaded efficiently by adiabatic transport of a magnetic trap via the application of uniform external fields. Radio frequency spectroscopy is used for in-trap analysis and to determine the temperature of the atomic cloud. The formation of a Bose-Einstein condensate is observed in time of flight images and as a narrow peak appearing in the radio frequency spectrum.Comment: changed title, substantial text modifications, journal reference adde

Atom Chips: Fabrication and Thermal Properties

Neutral atoms can be trapped and manipulated with surface mounted microscopic current carrying and charged structures. We present a lithographic fabrication process for such atom chips based on evaporated metal films. The size limit of this process is below 1$\mu$m. At room temperature, thin wires can carry more than 10$^7$A/cm$^2$ current density and voltages of more than 500V. Extensive test measurements for different substrates and metal thicknesses (up to 5 $\mu$m) are compared to models for the heating characteristics of the microscopic wires. Among the materials tested, we find that Si is the best suited substrate for atom chips

A lattice of microtraps for ultracold atoms based on patterned magnetic films

We have realized a two dimensional permanent magnetic lattice of Ioffe-Pritchard microtraps for ultracold atoms. The lattice is formed by a single 300 nm magnetized layer of FePt, patterned using optical lithography. Our magnetic lattice consists of more than 15000 tightly confining microtraps with a density of 1250 traps/mm$^2$. Simple analytical approximations for the magnetic fields produced by the lattice are used to derive relevant trap parameters. We load ultracold atoms into at least 30 lattice sites at a distance of approximately 10 $\mu$m from the film surface. The present result is an important first step towards quantum information processing with neutral atoms in magnetic lattice potentials.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

Balance, growth and diversity of financial markets

A financial market comprising of a certain number of distinct companies is considered, and the following statement is proved: either a specific agent will surely beat the whole market unconditionally in the long run, or (and this "or" is not exclusive) all the capital of the market will accumulate in one company. Thus, absence of any "free unbounded lunches relative to the total capital" opportunities lead to the most dramatic failure of diversity in the market: one company takes over all other until the end of time. In order to prove this, we introduce the notion of perfectly balanced markets, which is an equilibrium state in which the relative capitalization of each company is a martingale under the physical probability. Then, the weaker notion of balanced markets is discussed where the martingale property of the relative capitalizations holds only approximately, we show how these concepts relate to growth-optimality and efficiency of the market, as well as how we can infer a shadow interest rate that is implied in the economy in the absence of a bank.Comment: 25 page

Dynamically controlled toroidal and ring-shaped magnetic traps

We present traps with toroidal $(T^{2})$ and ring-shaped topologies, based on adiabatic potentials for radio-frequency dressed Zeeman states in a ring-shaped magnetic quadrupole field. Simple adjustment of the radio-frequency fields provides versatile possibilities for dynamical parameter tuning, topology change, and controlled potential perturbation. We show how to induce toroidal and poloidal rotations, and demonstrate the feasibility of preparing degenerate quantum gases with reduced dimensionality and periodic boundary conditions. The great level of dynamical and even state dependent control is useful for atom interferometry.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Paragraphs on gravity compensation and expected trap lifetimes adde

Characterization of infectious and defective cloned avian hepadnavirus genomes

The infectivity in vivo, replication competence in vitro, and expression of viral genes of several molecularly cloned duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) genomes were investigated. In addition, replication competence, core protein expression, and secretion of viral proteins were investigated for a grey heron hepatitis B virus genome. Except two, all DHBV isolates tested induced a systemic infection in Pekin ducks when injected as cloned viral DNA into the liver. After transfection of chicken hepatoma cells, both defective DHBV genomes expressed intracellular nucleocapsid and pre-S envelope proteins and secreted DHBs/pre-S particles into the medium. One of the defective DHBV genomes and HHBV produced within the cells replicative intermediates encapsidated in core particles and secreted virions, whereas the other defective DHBV genome did not and was unable to efficiently encapsidate the RNA pregenome. Comparative sequence analysis was performed to identify potential amino acid changes in viral proteins of both defective DHBV genomes. The data obtained demonstrate that most cloned avian hepadnaviruses are infectious or replication competent and suggest defects in envelope, polymerase or encapsidation function, respectively, in two cloned DHBV genomes

How many independent bets are there?

The benefits of portfolio diversification is a central tenet implicit to modern financial theory and practice. Linked to diversification is the notion of breadth. Breadth is correctly thought of as the number of in- dependent bets available to an investor. Conventionally applications us- ing breadth frequently assume only the number of separate bets. There may be a large discrepancy between these two interpretations. We uti- lize a simple singular-value decomposition (SVD) and the Keiser-Gutman stopping criterion to select the integer-valued effective dimensionality of the correlation matrix of returns. In an emerging market such as South African we document an estimated breadth that is considerably lower than anticipated. This lack of diversification may be because of market concentration, exposure to the global commodity cycle and local currency volatility. We discuss some practical extensions to a more statistically correct interpretation of market breadth, and its theoretical implications for both global and domestic investors.Comment: Less technical rewrite. 12 Pages, 6 Figures (.eps

Sagnac interferometry with a single atomic clock

The Sagnac effect enables interferometric measurements of rotation with high precision. Using matter waves instead of light promises resolution enhancement by orders of magnitude that scales with particle mass. So far, the paradigm for matter wave Sagnac interferometry relies on DeBroglie waves and thus on free propagation of atoms either in free fall or within waveguides. However, the Sagnac effect can be expressed as a propertime difference experienced by two observers moving in opposite directions along closed paths and has indeed been measured with atomic clocks flown around Earth. Inspired by this, we investigate an interferometer comprised of a single atomic clock. The Sagnac effect manifests as a phase shift between trapped atoms in different internal states after transportation along closed paths in opposite directions, without any free propagation. With analytic models, we quantify limitations of the scheme arising from atomic dynamics and finite temperature. Furthermore, we suggest an implementation with previously demonstrated technology

Three-dimensional character of atom-chip-based rf-dressed potentials

We experimentally investigate the properties of radio-frequency-dressed potentials for Bose-Einstein condensates on atom chips. The three-dimensional potential forms a connected pair of parallel waveguides. We show that rf-dressed potentials are robust against the effect of small magnetic-field variations on the trap potential. Long-lived dipole oscillations of condensates induced in the rf-dressed potentials can be tuned to a remarkably low damping rate. We study a beam-splitter for Bose-Einstein condensates and show that a propagating condensate can be dynamically split in two vertically separated parts and guided along two paths. The effect of gravity on the potential can be tuned and compensated for using a rf-field gradient.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure

Two-dimensional array of microtraps with atomic shift register on a chip

Arrays of trapped atoms are the ideal starting point for developing registers comprising large numbers of physical qubits for storing and processing quantum information. One very promising approach involves neutral atom traps produced on microfabricated devices known as atom chips, as almost arbitrary trap configurations can be realised in a robust and compact package. Until now, however, atom chip experiments have focused on small systems incorporating single or only a few individual traps. Here we report experiments on a two-dimensional array of trapped ultracold atom clouds prepared using a simple magnetic-film atom chip. We are able to load atoms into hundreds of tightly confining and optically resolved array sites. We then cool the individual atom clouds in parallel to the critical temperature required for quantum degeneracy. Atoms are shuttled across the chip surface utilising the atom chip as an atomic shift register and local manipulation of atoms is implemented using a focused laser to rapidly empty individual traps.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure