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arXiv:1311.1290 · Physical Review Letters

Magic Polarization for Optical Trapping of Atoms without Stark-Induced Dephasing

Huidong Kim, Hyok Sang Han, D. Cho

Published Dec 11, 2013• 34 citations
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Abstract

We demonstrate that the differential ac-Stark shift of a Zeeman-sensitive ground hyperfine transition in an optical trap can be eliminated by using properly polarized trapping light. We use the vector polarizability of an alkali-metal atom to produce a polarization-dependent ac-Stark shift that resembles a Zeeman shift. We study a transition from the $|2{S}_{1/2},F=2,{m}_{F}=\ensuremath{-}2⟩$ to the $|2{S}_{1/2},F=1,{m}_{F}=\ensuremath{-}1⟩$ state of $^{7}\mathrm{Li}$ to observe $0.59\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.02\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{Hz}$ linewidth with interrogation time of 2 s and $0.82\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.06\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{s}$ coherence time of a superposition state. Implications of the narrow linewidth and the long coherence time for precision spectroscopy and quantum information processing using atoms in an optical lattice are discussed.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.111.243004

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Acta Physica Sinica•Jan 1, 2023•2 citations
We demonstrate that the differential ac-Stark shift of a Zeeman-sensitive ground hyperfine transition in an optical trap can be eliminated by using properly polarized trapping light. We use the vector polarizability of an alkali-metal atom to produce a polarization-dependent ac-Stark shift that resembles a Zeeman shift. We study a transition from the ∣2S1/2,F=2,mF=\ensuremath−2⟩|2{S}_{1/2},F=2,{m}_{F}=\ensuremath{-}2⟩∣2S1/2​,F=2,mF​=\ensuremath−2⟩ to the ∣2S1/2,F=1,mF=\ensuremath−1⟩|2{S}_{1/2},F=1,{m}_{F}=\ensuremath{-}1⟩∣2S1/2​,F=1,mF​=\ensuremath−1⟩ state of 7Li^{7}\mathrm{Li}7Li to observe 0.59\ifmmode±\else\textpm\fi0.02  Hz0.59\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.02\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{Hz}0.59\ifmmode±\else\textpm\fi0.02  Hz linewidth with interrogation time of 2 s and 0.82\ifmmode±\else\textpm\fi0.06  s0.82\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.06\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{s}0.82\ifmmode±\else\textpm\fi0.06  s coherence time of a superposition state. Implications of the narrow linewidth and the long coherence time for precision spectroscopy and quantum information processing using atoms in an optical lattice are discussed.
We propose a way to eliminate the inhomogeneous broadening for a ground-state hyperfine transition of an alkali metal atom in an optical trap by using a properly polarized trapping field. The ac Stark shift contribution from the vector polarizability has opposite sign for a pair of ground hyperfine levels. It can be used to eliminate the inhomogeneous broadening from the difference in the scalar polarizbilities due to the hyperfine splitting. The size of the vector term is determined by the polarization state of the trapping field, and by controlling the polarization tightly one can achieve a very narrow linewidth. We estimate required tolerance in the polarization control to achieve 1-Hz linewidth for a specific case of a cesium atom. This proposal has significant implications for an electric dipole moment measurement using cesium atoms and quantum information processing using an optical lattice.
We demonstrate that when laser light is circularly polarized and properly detuned, the ac Stark shift of an alkali-metal atom in its ground state takes the form of a pure Zeeman shift. The condition is satisfied when the laser frequency is between the D1D1D1 and D2D2D2 transition frequencies, with the size of the detuning from the D2D2D2 resonance twice that from the D1D1D1 resonance. The direction of the effective magnetic field is along the laser propagation axis, and its magnitude is proportional to the vector polarizability of the atom and to the laser intensity. We use stimulated Raman spectroscopy on an optically pumped slow atomic beam from a magneto-optical trap to measure the vector polarizability and saturated absorption spectroscopy to show that the scalar polarizability vanishes at the particular detuning.
We demonstrate the cancellation of the differential ac Stark shift of the microwave hyperfine clock transition in trapped 87Rb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb atoms. Recent progress in metrology exploits so-called magic wavelengths, whereby an atomic ensemble can be trapped with laser light whose wavelength is chosen so that both levels of an optical atomic transition experience identical ac Stark shifts. Similar magic-wavelength techniques are not possible for the microwave hyperfine transitions in the alkali metals due to their simple electronic structure. We show, however, that ac Stark shift cancellation is indeed achievable for certain values of wavelength, polarization, and magnetic field. The cancellation comes at the expense of a small magnetic-field sensitivity. The technique demonstrated here has implications for experiments involving the precise control of optically trapped neutral atoms.
We demonstrate the cancellation of the differential ac Stark shift of the microwave hyperfine clock transition in trapped 87 Rb atoms. Recent progress in metrology exploits so-called “magic wavelengths,” whereby an atomic ensemble can be trapped with laser light whose wavelength is chosen so that both levels of an optical atomic transition experience identical ac Stark shifts. Similar magic-wavelength techniques are not possible for the microwave hyperfine transitions in the alkalis, due to their simple electronic structure. We show, however, that ac Stark shift cancellation is indeed achievable for certain values of wavelength, polarization, and magnetic field. The cancellation comes at the expense of a small magnetic-field sensitivity. The technique demonstrated here has implications for experiments involving the precise control of optically-trapped neutral atoms.
Precision measurements and quantum-information processing with cold atoms may benefit from trapping atoms with specially engineered, ``magic'' optical fields. At the magic trapping conditions, the relevant atomic properties remain immune to strong perturbations by the trapping fields. Here we develop a theoretical analysis of magic trapping for especially valuable Zeeman-insensitive clock transitions in alkali-metal atoms. The involved mechanism relies on applying a magic bias BBB field along a circularly polarized trapping laser field. We map out these BBB fields as a function of trapping laser wavelength for all commonly used alkalis. We also highlight a common error in evaluating Stark shifts of hyperfine manifolds.
Laser cooling and trapping of neutral atoms is of great significance for studying the physical and chemical properties of atoms. To further realize the spatial localization of atoms, optical dipole trap (ODT) was proposed to manipulate individual atoms, ions or molecules and has become an increasingly important technique in the field of cold atomic physics and quantum optics. To eliminate the differential light shift of transitions between atomic states, ODT can be turned off during excitation/radiation. However, it will shorten the trap lifetime of the atom and reduce the repetition rate of the single photon. The AC stark shift can be eliminated experimentally by constructing blue-detuned dark ODT, but the micron-level dark ODT usually requires more complex experimental equipment and is not easy to operate. Therefore, magic-wavelength ODT was constructed to realize that the transition frequency of photons between atomic states is the same as in free space. When the trapping laser makes the differential light shift of the transition between the two atomic states zero, the laser wavelength is called the magic wavelength. The magic-wavelength ODT can eliminate the differential light shift of the transition between atoms, improve the repetition rate of the experimental sequence and weaken the atomic decoherence. In recent years, it has become a powerful tool for manipulating cold atoms, especially for coherently manipulating the atomic inner states. In the present work, with the theory of multi-level model, we calculate the dynamic electric polarizability of the 6S1/2 ground state and the 6P3/2 excited state connecting the D2 line of cesium atom in a range of 800–1000 nm, and obtain the magic wavelength of the optical trapping laser to trap the ground state and the excited state. Since the polarizability of atomic states with angular momentum greater than 0.5 is very sensitive to the polarization angle, the polarization-angle-dependent magic wavelength and the corresponding magic polarizability are analyzed by taking the linearly-polarized trapping laser for example. The magic polarization angle is 54.7° and the magic wavelength at this angle are 886.4315 and 934.0641 nm, respectively. The robustness of the magic conditions and the feasibility of the experimental operation are further analyzed.