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arXiv:2006.04776 · Physical Review A

Cavity probe for real-time detection of atom dynamics in an optical lattice

Robert D. Niederriter, Chandler Schlupf, Paul Hamilton

Published Nov 9, 2020• 8 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We propose and demonstrate real-time subwavelength cavity QED measurements of the spatial distribution of atoms in an optical lattice. Atoms initially confined in one ``trap'' standing wave of an optical cavity mode are probed with a second ``probe'' standing wave. With frequencies offset by one free spectral range, the nodes of the trap fall on the antinodes of the probe in the $\ensuremath{\approx}{10}^{4}$ lattice sites around the center of the cavity. This lattice site independent atom-cavity coupling enables high sensitivity detection of atom dynamics even with atoms spread over many lattice sites. To demonstrate, we measure the temperature of $20--70\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{K}$ atom ensembles in $<10\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{s}$ by monitoring their expansion by $\ensuremath{\approx}100$ nm after sudden release from the trap lattice. Atom-cavity coupling imprints the atom dynamics on the probe transmission. The technique will enable improved nondestructive detection of Bloch oscillations and other atom dynamics in optical lattices.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.102.051301

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Motivated to develop quantum technologies and to study ever-more complex quantum systems,scientists are developing increasingly sophisticated experimental tools to control and\nmeasure quantum samples such as ensembles of ultracold atoms. A high-finesse optical\ncavity can be used to measure the state of atoms within its photonic mode with precision\nlimited only by quantum uncertainty. Such a cavity can also be used to mediate interactions\nbetween different atoms within the cavity mode. High-resolution microscope objectives have\nbeen interfaced with ultracold atom experiments to allow researchers to image single atoms\nwithin optical lattices, to trap single atoms in microtweezer arrays, and to imprint arbitrary\noptical patterns onto atomic ensembles. Among other applications, these technologies have\nallowed researchers to investigate many-body quantum systems, engineer novel interactions,\nand realize high-fidelity quantum operations.This dissertation presents the details of the design, construction, and operation of a new, versatileatomic physics apparatus that combines these two experimental tools. The apparatus\nincludes a high-finesse optical cavity into which atoms are optically transported. In addition,\nthere is a high-numerical-aperture objective aligned to image, with micron-scale resolution,\natoms trapped within the center of the optical cavity. We present results demonstrating\nthe capability of this apparatus to deliver and study ultracold atomic samples, ranging from\nsingle atoms to Bose-Einstein condensates. We demonstrate a dispersive shift of the cavity\nresonance due to the presence of atoms in the cavity mode and the trapping and imaging of\nsingle atoms in optical microtweezers. We also present an atomic scanning probe microscopy\ntechnique with which a single atom in a microtweezer is used to map out the spatial amplitude\npattern of an optical cavity mode standing wave by monitoring the position-dependent\nscattering properties of the atom.

•Jan 1, 2020•1 citation
We propose and demonstrate real-time subwavelength cavity QED measurements of the spatial distribution of atoms in an optical lattice. Atoms initially confined in one trap'' standing wave of an optical cavity mode are probed with a second probe'' standing wave. With frequencies offset by one free spectral range, the nodes of the trap fall on the antinodes of the probe in the \ensuremath≈104\ensuremath{\approx}{10}^{4}\ensuremath≈104 lattice sites around the center of the cavity. This lattice site independent atom-cavity coupling enables high sensitivity detection of atom dynamics even with atoms spread over many lattice sites. To demonstrate, we measure the temperature of 20−−70\ensuremathμK20--70\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{K}20−−70\ensuremathμK atom ensembles in <10\ensuremathμs<10\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{s}<10\ensuremathμs by monitoring their expansion by \ensuremath≈100\ensuremath{\approx}100\ensuremath≈100 nm after sudden release from the trap lattice. Atom-cavity coupling imprints the atom dynamics on the probe transmission. The technique will enable improved nondestructive detection of Bloch oscillations and other atom dynamics in optical lattices.
This dissertation details the construction of a neutral ultracold atom system along with one completed experiment and one future experiment. This systems contains a two-stage slowing/cooling scheme with a Zeeman slower and a magneto-optical trap (MOT), as well as an in-vacuum optical cavity. The optical cavity was specially designed for precision measurement experiments. When near resonance atoms are present in the cavity, they cause a phase shift in the light. This enables use of the cavity light transmission as a minimally invasive feedback for information on the presence of atoms in the cavity. We look at this atom cavity interaction in two regimes: a deep lattice and a shallow lattice. Atoms confined to a deep optical lattice are constrained to thousands of individual wells. Any feedback on the lattice from motion of atoms in a single well is amplified by thousands due to this repetition. We exploit this deep lattice uniformity to measure atomic motion immediately after release from the deep lattice using another very shallow probe lattice. The feedback from the atomic motion on the probe lattice cavity transmission is used to measure the atomic sample’s original temperature without losing the atoms. We measure the sample's temperature in both the axial and radial direction, with the axial measurement taking <10 mu<10~\\mu<10 mus with the ability to recapture 7575\\%75 of the atoms back into the lattice. Atoms in a shallow lattice have wavefunctions spread out across multiple lattice cites. This enables them to undergo a process called Bloch oscillations, which requires a periodic potential plus a uniform force (gravity). I perform a simulation of the coupled atom and lattice distributions to optimize our experimental realization of the system. The atomic oscillations due to gravity imprint their oscillation frequency on the transmission of cavity light, which enables us to measure the force on the atoms which is directly proportional to the frequency. We plan on using this feature to perform a precision measurement on our atoms to look for ultralight dark matter. I estimate our limits on this type of dark matter, and discuss the future of this experiment.
We describe a scheme for probing a gas of ultracold atoms trapped in an optical lattice and moving in the presence of an external potential. The probe is nondestructive and uses the existing lattice fields as the measurement device. Two counterpropagating cavity fields simultaneously set up a conservative lattice potential and a weak quantum probe of the atomic motion. Balanced heterodyne detection of the probe field at the cavity output along with integration in time and across the atomic cloud yield information about the atomic dynamics in a single run. The scheme is applied to a measurement of the Bloch oscillation frequency for atoms moving in the presence of the local gravitational potential. Signal-to-noise ratios are estimated to be as high as 104{10}^{4}104.
The number of atoms trapped within the mode of an optical cavity is determined in real time by monitoring the transmission of a weak probe beam. Continuous observation of atom number is accomplished in the strong coupling regime of cavity quantum electrodynamics and functions in concert with a cooling scheme for radial atomic motion. The probe transmission exhibits sudden steps from one plateau to the next in response to the time evolution of the intracavity atom number, from N >= 3 to N = 2 to 1 to 0, with some trapping events lasting over 1 second.
The enhanced coupling between atoms and photons inside a high-finesse optical cavity provides a novel basis for optical measurements that continuously monitor atomic degrees of freedom. We describe an experiment in which cavity quantum-electrodynamic effects are utilized for real-time detection of individual atoms falling through an optical cavity after being dropped from a magneto-optical trap. Our technique permits experiments that are triggered by the presence of a single optimally coupled atom within the cavity mode volume.
The number of atoms trapped within the mode of an optical cavity is determined in real time by monitoring the transmission of a weak probe beam. Continuous observation of atom number is accomplished in the strong coupling regime of cavity quantum electrodynamics and functions in concert with a cooling scheme for radial atomic motion. The probe transmission exhibits sudden steps from one plateau to the next in response to the time evolution of the intracavity atom number, from N>or=3 to N=2-->1-->0 atoms, with some trapping events lasting over 1 s.
Motivated to develop quantum technologies and to study ever-more complex quantum systems,scientists are developing increasingly sophisticated experimental tools to control and\nmeasure quantum samples such as ensembles of ultracold atoms. A high-finesse optical\ncavity can be used to measure the state of atoms within its photonic mode with precision\nlimited only by quantum uncertainty. Such a cavity can also be used to mediate interactions\nbetween different atoms within the cavity mode. High-resolution microscope objectives have\nbeen interfaced with ultracold atom experiments to allow researchers to image single atoms\nwithin optical lattices, to trap single atoms in microtweezer arrays, and to imprint arbitrary\noptical patterns onto atomic ensembles. Among other applications, these technologies have\nallowed researchers to investigate many-body quantum systems, engineer novel interactions,\nand realize high-fidelity quantum operations.This dissertation presents the details of the design, construction, and operation of a new, versatileatomic physics apparatus that combines these two experimental tools. The apparatus\nincludes a high-finesse optical cavity into which atoms are optically transported. In addition,\nthere is a high-numerical-aperture objective aligned to image, with micron-scale resolution,\natoms trapped within the center of the optical cavity. We present results demonstrating\nthe capability of this apparatus to deliver and study ultracold atomic samples, ranging from\nsingle atoms to Bose-Einstein condensates. We demonstrate a dispersive shift of the cavity\nresonance due to the presence of atoms in the cavity mode and the trapping and imaging of\nsingle atoms in optical microtweezers. We also present an atomic scanning probe microscopy\ntechnique with which a single atom in a microtweezer is used to map out the spatial amplitude\npattern of an optical cavity mode standing wave by monitoring the position-dependent\nscattering properties of the atom.