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arXiv:0909.5090 · Physical Review A

Bose-Einstein condensation in dark power-law laser traps

Amine Jaouadi, Naceur Gaaloul, B. Viaris de Lesegno, Mourad Telmini, Laurence Pruvost, Éric Charron

Published Aug 23, 2010• 38 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We investigate theoretically an original route to achieve Bose-Einstein condensation using dark power-law laser traps. We propose to create such traps with two crossing blue-detuned Laguerre-Gaussian optical beams. Controlling their azimuthal order $\ensuremath{\ell}$ allows for the exploration of a multitude of power-law trapping situations in one, two, and three dimensions, ranging from the usual harmonic trap to an almost square-well potential, in which a quasihomogeneous Bose gas can be formed. The usual cigar-shaped and disk-shaped Bose-Einstein condensates obtained in a 1D or 2D harmonic trap take the generic form of a ``finger'' or of a ``hockey puck'' in such Laguerre-Gaussian traps. In addition, for a fixed atom number, higher transition temperatures are obtained in such configurations when compared with a harmonic trap of the same volume. This effect, which results in a substantial acceleration of the condensation dynamics, requires a better but still reasonable focusing of the Laguerre-Gaussian beams.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.82.023613

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•Our trap is generated from the AC Stark effect induced by a laser in higherorder Laguerre-Gaussian modes detuned both to the red and blue of the resonance frequency. • Common practice is to make an harmonic expansion about the outer node of the LG geometry. •Here, we compare the effects of including the potential in its entirety. •We present experimental results for a Bose gas trapped in the LG dipole trap. •A dipole trap is arises from the AC Stark effect, whose potential takes the form:

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Toroidal optical dipole traps for atomic Bose-Einstein condensates using Laguerre-Gaussian beams

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In 1925, Einstein predicted the condensation of bosons into the ground state of the system for low (but finite) temperatures. Several phenomena, including superfluidity and superconductivity have been associated with Bose-Einstein condensation, but these systems interact strongly with their environment and pure Bose-Einstein condensation could not be established. It took 70 years, in which time the laser was discovered, and laser cooling techniques to manipulate atoms in a dilute atomic gas, before Bose-Einstein condensation in dilute atomic gases could be demonstrated in 1995. In the first condensation experiments, BECs were created in a magnetic trap. Since in a magnetic trap not all mF states of the atom can be trapped simultaneously, thereby limiting the number of experiments that can be done, other ways of trapping and generating BECs were sought and found. In 2001, the first all-optical BEC was made, where the dipole force was used to trap atoms in the crossing of two far red detuned laser beams. In an optical dipole trap not only atoms in different internal states can be trapped, but also different atomic species simultaneously. In this thesis, the formation of an all-optical Bose-Einstein condensate with rubidium atoms is presented. Conventional all-optical BECs are usually created in high power CO2 laser dipole traps, or have complicated laser cooling schemes and complex dipole trap setups. In our simple and straightforward setup, we load rubidium atoms from a magneto-optical trap into a crossed optical dipole trap created by a single frequency Yb:YAG laser with a wavelength at 1030 nm. The small wavelength allows for a small diffraction limit, and permits us to use standard optical materials, thus making the experimental setup cost effective. Other attempts to achieve Bose-Einstein condensation in a multi-mode (frequency) fiber laser at 1064 nm failed, because the atom loss was quite high. It is assumed that the multi-mode character of the fiber laser induces Raman transitions in rubidium atoms, thereby heating them. We can trap about ∼ 5E7 atoms in a single beam dipole trap out of ∼ 5E9 atoms trapped in theMOT, and ∼ 350,000 atoms can be trapped in a crossed beam dipole trap due to the smaller trap volume. 70% of the atoms in the dipole trap is optically pumped into one mF state. Quantum degeneracy is reached by evaporatively cooling the atoms in the crossed dipole trap by ramping down the laser power with three linear ramps. We can independently change the power of each beam by an AOM. This allows us to use one beam as an atom waveguide for future experiments. After evaporation, we typically have about 10,000 atoms at a temperature below the critical temperature. We have proved Bose-Einstein condensation by using the anisotropic expansion of a quantum degenerate gas trapped in an anisotropic potential. The aspect ratio of our atom cloud changed during a time of flight from 0.7 to 1.2 in 10 ms, thus proving that we have reached quantum degeneracy. We have about 5,000 condensed atoms in our optical dipole trap at a temperature less than 100 nK. The remaining atoms are thermal. Bose-Einstein condensation is obtained within 8 s, and we can repeat the experiment every 30 s. It should be mentioned that the Bose-Einstein experiment was moved from the ”Leibniz Universität Hannover” to the ”Technische Universität Darmstadt”, and had to be completely rebuilt. All-optical Bose-Einstein condensation was reached within one year after the move. Our Bose-Einstein condensation setup presents an ideal starting point for using our condensates in combination with miniaturized atom optical setups based on our novel microfabricated optical elements. With our microlenses, we can create a number of possible dipole trap configurations, such as the dipole trap array or the cylindrical microlens array. Using microlenses in miniaturized atom optical setups opens a completely new field of coherent atom optics. Also because the tight confinement of the microtraps allows us to load a 3D BEC, a 1D BEC, or a Tonks-Girardeau gas in the micropotentials depending on the density.

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Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of an ideal gas is investigated, beyond the thermodynamic limit, for a finite number $N$ of particles trapped in a generic three-dimensional power-law potential. We derive an analytical expression for the condensation temperature ${T}_{c}$ in terms of a power series in ${x}_{0}={\ensuremath{\varepsilon}}_{0}/{k}_{B}{T}_{c}$, where ${\ensuremath{\varepsilon}}_{0}$ denotes the zero-point energy of the trapping potential. This expression, which applies in Cartesian, cylindrical, and spherical power-law traps, is given analytically at infinite order. It is also given numerically for specific potential shapes as an expansion in powers of ${x}_{0}$ up to the second order. We show that, for a harmonic trap, the well-known first-order shift of the critical temperature $\ensuremath{\Delta}{T}_{c}/{T}_{c}\ensuremath{\propto}{N}^{\ensuremath{-}1/3}$ is inaccurate when $N\ensuremath{\leqslant}{10}^{5}$, the next order (proportional to ${N}^{\ensuremath{-}1/2}$) being significant. We also show that finite-size effects on the condensation temperature cancel out in a cubic trapping potential, e.g., $V(r)\ensuremath{\propto}{r}^{3}$. Finally, we show that in a generic power-law potential of higher order, e.g., $V(r)\ensuremath{\propto}{r}^{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$ with $\ensuremath{\alpha}>3$, the shift of the critical temperature becomes positive. This effect provides a large increase of ${T}_{c}$ for relatively small atom numbers. For instance, an increase of about $+$40% is expected with ${10}^{4}$ atoms in a $V(r)\ensuremath{\propto}{r}^{12}$ trapping potential.

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All-Optical Spinor Bose-Einstein Condensation and the Spinor Dynamics-Driven Atom Laser

Nathan E. Lundblad

Optical trapping as a viable means of exploring the physics of ultracold dilute atomic gases has revealed a new spectrum of physical phenomena. In particular, macroscopic and sudden occupation of the ground state below a critical temperature—-a phenomenon known as Bose-Einstein condensation—-has become an even richer system for the study of quantum mechanics, ultracold collisions, and many-body physics in general. Optical trapping liberates the spin degree of the BEC, making the order parameter vectorial (‘spinor BEC’), as opposed to the scalar order of traditional magnetically trapped condensates. The work described within is divided into two main efforts. The first encompasses the all-optical creation of a Bose-Einstein condensate in rubidium vapor. An all-optical path to spinor BEC (as opposed to transfer to an optical trap from a magnetic-trap condensate) was desired both for the simplicity of the experimental setup and also for the potential gains in speed of creation; evaporative cooling, the only known path to dilute-gas condensation, works only as efficiently as the rate of elastic collisions in the gas, a rate that starts out much higher in optical traps. The first all-optical BEC was formed elsewhere in 2001; the years following saw many groups worldwide seeking to create their own version. Our own all-optical spinor BEC, made with a single-beam dipole trap formed by a focused CO₂ laser, is described here, with particular attention paid to trap loading, measurement of trap parameters, and the use of a novel 780 nm high-power laser system. The second part describes initial experiments performed with the nascent condensate. The spinor properties of the condensate are documented, and a measurement is made of the density-dependent rate of spin mixing in the condensate. In addition, we demonstrate a novel dual-beam atom laser formed by outcoupling oppositely polarized components of the condensate, whose populations have been coherently evolved through spin dynamics. We drive coherent spin-mixing evolution through adiabatic compression of the initially weak trap. Such dual beams, nominally number-correlated through the angular momentum-conserving collision m=0 + m=0 ⇌ m=+1 + m=-1 have been proposed as tools to explore entanglement and squeezing in Bose-Einstein condensates.

•May 30, 2006•0 citations
We investigate theoretically an original route to achieve Bose-Einstein condensation using dark power-law laser traps. We propose to create such traps with two crossing blue-detuned Laguerre-Gaussian optical beams. Controlling their azimuthal order \ensuremathℓ\ensuremath{\ell}\ensuremathℓ allows for the exploration of a multitude of power-law trapping situations in one, two, and three dimensions, ranging from the usual harmonic trap to an almost square-well potential, in which a quasihomogeneous Bose gas can be formed. The usual cigar-shaped and disk-shaped Bose-Einstein condensates obtained in a 1D or 2D harmonic trap take the generic form of a finger'' or of a hockey puck'' in such Laguerre-Gaussian traps. In addition, for a fixed atom number, higher transition temperatures are obtained in such configurations when compared with a harmonic trap of the same volume. This effect, which results in a substantial acceleration of the condensation dynamics, requires a better but still reasonable focusing of the Laguerre-Gaussian beams.
Abstract This study investigates the formation and dynamics of solitons in Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs) within dark traps generated by two crossed Laguerre–Gaussian (LG) beams with varying azimuthal indices ℓ . As the index ℓ increases, the potential transitions from a harmonic trap when ℓ = 1 to a square-well potential for larger values of ℓ . This transition allows us to study a range of soliton dynamics under different confinement conditions while maintaining the same BEC volume. Through the derivation of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE) and under these specific conditions in both one-dimensional and two-dimensional configurations, we explore the dynamics of solitons across multiple scenarios. The study examines two primary methods for solitons generation: the temporal modulation of the scattering length and the implementation of an initial potential barrier that is subsequently removed. The results indicate that the trap shape plays a critical role in the generation and interaction dynamics of solitons. In harmonic traps, solitons exhibit a behavior different from those observed in anharmonic traps, where the dynamics is significantly influenced by the azimuthal index of the trap. The ability to control soliton dynamics in BECs holds significant promise for applications in quantum technologies, precision sensing, and the exploration of fundamental quantum phenomena.
•Our trap is generated from the AC Stark effect induced by a laser in higherorder Laguerre-Gaussian modes detuned both to the red and blue of the resonance frequency. • Common practice is to make an harmonic expansion about the outer node of the LG geometry. •Here, we compare the effects of including the potential in its entirety. •We present experimental results for a Bose gas trapped in the LG dipole trap. •A dipole trap is arises from the AC Stark effect, whose potential takes the form:
In 1925, Einstein predicted the condensation of bosons into the ground state of the system for low (but finite) temperatures. Several phenomena, including superfluidity and superconductivity have been associated with Bose-Einstein condensation, but these systems interact strongly with their environment and pure Bose-Einstein condensation could not be established. It took 70 years, in which time the laser was discovered, and laser cooling techniques to manipulate atoms in a dilute atomic gas, before Bose-Einstein condensation in dilute atomic gases could be demonstrated in 1995. In the first condensation experiments, BECs were created in a magnetic trap. Since in a magnetic trap not all mF states of the atom can be trapped simultaneously, thereby limiting the number of experiments that can be done, other ways of trapping and generating BECs were sought and found. In 2001, the first all-optical BEC was made, where the dipole force was used to trap atoms in the crossing of two far red detuned laser beams. In an optical dipole trap not only atoms in different internal states can be trapped, but also different atomic species simultaneously. In this thesis, the formation of an all-optical Bose-Einstein condensate with rubidium atoms is presented. Conventional all-optical BECs are usually created in high power CO2 laser dipole traps, or have complicated laser cooling schemes and complex dipole trap setups. In our simple and straightforward setup, we load rubidium atoms from a magneto-optical trap into a crossed optical dipole trap created by a single frequency Yb:YAG laser with a wavelength at 1030 nm. The small wavelength allows for a small diffraction limit, and permits us to use standard optical materials, thus making the experimental setup cost effective. Other attempts to achieve Bose-Einstein condensation in a multi-mode (frequency) fiber laser at 1064 nm failed, because the atom loss was quite high. It is assumed that the multi-mode character of the fiber laser induces Raman transitions in rubidium atoms, thereby heating them. We can trap about ∼ 5E7 atoms in a single beam dipole trap out of ∼ 5E9 atoms trapped in theMOT, and ∼ 350,000 atoms can be trapped in a crossed beam dipole trap due to the smaller trap volume. 70% of the atoms in the dipole trap is optically pumped into one mF state. Quantum degeneracy is reached by evaporatively cooling the atoms in the crossed dipole trap by ramping down the laser power with three linear ramps. We can independently change the power of each beam by an AOM. This allows us to use one beam as an atom waveguide for future experiments. After evaporation, we typically have about 10,000 atoms at a temperature below the critical temperature. We have proved Bose-Einstein condensation by using the anisotropic expansion of a quantum degenerate gas trapped in an anisotropic potential. The aspect ratio of our atom cloud changed during a time of flight from 0.7 to 1.2 in 10 ms, thus proving that we have reached quantum degeneracy. We have about 5,000 condensed atoms in our optical dipole trap at a temperature less than 100 nK. The remaining atoms are thermal. Bose-Einstein condensation is obtained within 8 s, and we can repeat the experiment every 30 s. It should be mentioned that the Bose-Einstein experiment was moved from the ”Leibniz Universität Hannover” to the ”Technische Universität Darmstadt”, and had to be completely rebuilt. All-optical Bose-Einstein condensation was reached within one year after the move. Our Bose-Einstein condensation setup presents an ideal starting point for using our condensates in combination with miniaturized atom optical setups based on our novel microfabricated optical elements. With our microlenses, we can create a number of possible dipole trap configurations, such as the dipole trap array or the cylindrical microlens array. Using microlenses in miniaturized atom optical setups opens a completely new field of coherent atom optics. Also because the tight confinement of the microtraps allows us to load a 3D BEC, a 1D BEC, or a Tonks-Girardeau gas in the micropotentials depending on the density.
Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of an ideal gas is investigated, beyond the thermodynamic limit, for a finite number NNN of particles trapped in a generic three-dimensional power-law potential. We derive an analytical expression for the condensation temperature Tc{T}_{c}Tc​ in terms of a power series in ${x}_{0}={\ensuremath{\varepsilon}}_{0}/{k}_{B}{T}_{c}$, where ${\ensuremath{\varepsilon}}_{0}$ denotes the zero-point energy of the trapping potential. This expression, which applies in Cartesian, cylindrical, and spherical power-law traps, is given analytically at infinite order. It is also given numerically for specific potential shapes as an expansion in powers of x0{x}_{0}x0​ up to the second order. We show that, for a harmonic trap, the well-known first-order shift of the critical temperature $\ensuremath{\Delta}{T}_{c}/{T}_{c}\ensuremath{\propto}{N}^{\ensuremath{-}1/3}$ is inaccurate when $N\ensuremath{\leqslant}{10}^{5}$, the next order (proportional to ${N}^{\ensuremath{-}1/2}$) being significant. We also show that finite-size effects on the condensation temperature cancel out in a cubic trapping potential, e.g., $V(r)\ensuremath{\propto}{r}^{3}$. Finally, we show that in a generic power-law potential of higher order, e.g., $V(r)\ensuremath{\propto}{r}^{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$ with $\ensuremath{\alpha}>3$, the shift of the critical temperature becomes positive. This effect provides a large increase of Tc{T}_{c}Tc​ for relatively small atom numbers. For instance, an increase of about $+$40% is expected with 104{10}^{4}104 atoms in a $V(r)\ensuremath{\propto}{r}^{12}$ trapping potential.
Optical trapping as a viable means of exploring the physics of ultracold dilute atomic gases has revealed a new spectrum of physical phenomena. In particular, macroscopic and sudden occupation of the ground state below a critical temperature—-a phenomenon known as Bose-Einstein condensation—-has become an even richer system for the study of quantum mechanics, ultracold collisions, and many-body physics in general. Optical trapping liberates the spin degree of the BEC, making the order parameter vectorial (‘spinor BEC’), as opposed to the scalar order of traditional magnetically trapped condensates. The work described within is divided into two main efforts. The first encompasses the all-optical creation of a Bose-Einstein condensate in rubidium vapor. An all-optical path to spinor BEC (as opposed to transfer to an optical trap from a magnetic-trap condensate) was desired both for the simplicity of the experimental setup and also for the potential gains in speed of creation; evaporative cooling, the only known path to dilute-gas condensation, works only as efficiently as the rate of elastic collisions in the gas, a rate that starts out much higher in optical traps. The first all-optical BEC was formed elsewhere in 2001; the years following saw many groups worldwide seeking to create their own version. Our own all-optical spinor BEC, made with a single-beam dipole trap formed by a focused CO₂ laser, is described here, with particular attention paid to trap loading, measurement of trap parameters, and the use of a novel 780 nm high-power laser system. The second part describes initial experiments performed with the nascent condensate. The spinor properties of the condensate are documented, and a measurement is made of the density-dependent rate of spin mixing in the condensate. In addition, we demonstrate a novel dual-beam atom laser formed by outcoupling oppositely polarized components of the condensate, whose populations have been coherently evolved through spin dynamics. We drive coherent spin-mixing evolution through adiabatic compression of the initially weak trap. Such dual beams, nominally number-correlated through the angular momentum-conserving collision m=0 + m=0 ⇌ m=+1 + m=-1 have been proposed as tools to explore entanglement and squeezing in Bose-Einstein condensates.