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European Quantum Electronics Conference (EQEC)

Self sustained collective oscillation in a cloud of cold atoms

G. Labeyrie, Robin Kaiser

Published Jan 18, 2006• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

This study presents experimental results of the collective effects, which are modifying the magneto-optical trap size, the motion of the center of mass (changing from overdamped to underdamped motion) and the most intriguing result of the dynamics of the magneto-optical trap size, i.e. the self-sustained collective oscillations. A simple theoretical model can explain most of the qualitative behavior observed in the experiment.

DOI
10.1109/eqec.2005.1567280

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This study presents experimental results of the collective effects, which are modifying the magneto-optical trap size, the motion of the center of mass (changing from overdamped to underdamped motion) and the most intriguing result of the dynamics of the magneto-optical trap size, i.e. the self-sustained collective oscillations. A simple theoretical model can explain most of the qualitative behavior observed in the experiment.
We have observed self-sustained radial oscillations in a large magneto-optical trap, containing up to 10(10) Rb85 atoms. This instability is due to the competition between the confining force of the magneto-optical trap and the repulsive interaction associated with multiple scattering of light inside the cold atomic cloud. A simple analytical model allows us to formulate a criterion for the instability threshold, in fair agreement with our observations. This criterion shows that large numbers of trapped atoms N>10(9) are required to observe this unstable behavior.
Nonlinear oscillations and synchronization phenomena are ubiquitous in nature. We study the synchronization of self-oscillating magneto-optically trapped cold atoms to a weak external driving. The oscillations arise from a dynamical instability due the competition between the screened magneto-optical trapping force and the interatomic repulsion due to multiple scattering of light. A weak modulation of the trapping force allows the oscillations of the cloud to synchronize to the driving. The synchronization frequency range increases with the forcing amplitude. The corresponding Arnold tongue is experimentally measured and compared to theoretical predictions. Phase locking between the oscillator and drive is also observed.
The instabilities observed in the atomic cloud of a magneto-optical trap are experimentally studied through the dynamics of the center of mass location and the cloud population. Two dynamical components are identified: a slow, stochastic one affects both variables, and a fast, deterministic one affects only the center of mass location. A one-dimensional stochastic model taking into account the shadow effect is developed from these observations and reproduces the experimental behavior. It is shown that instabilities are driven by noise and present stochastic resonancelike characteristics.
In this Thesis, we study the fundamental aspects of self-oscillating atomic clouds in a large, balanced Magneto-Optical Trap (MOT). These instabilities bear analogies with astrophysical systems such as Cepheid variable stars, whose self-oscillations depend on radiation pressure and gravity, as well as technological systems such as confined plasmas, where self-oscillations may arise due to interactions between the plasma particles and the confining magnetic field. We begin with an experimental study of self-oscillating balanced MOT instabilities, investigating first the instability threshold behavior versus various MOT parameters, including magnetic field gradient, atom number and laser intensity. We proceed then investigating the spatio-temporal properties of the unstable regime and identify distinct instability regimes. Different analysis techniques are employed that allow us to learn about the oscillation modes of clouds of these regimes as well as the size distribution of the structures developing in clouds of these regimes. In a theoretical approach, we develop a kinetic 3D model for the MOT with many-atom effects included and successfully use it in numerical simulations of our instabilities. We find qualitative agreements with the instability thresholds from the experiments as well as predict experimentally obtained instability regimes. We investigate the impact of our model’s physical ingredients on the instabilities, to aid the understanding of the complex physics at work. Finally, we show a preliminary simulated result for a self-oscillating instability in the misaligned MOT, known to experimentally exist, in that way demonstrating that our developed numerical tool can be employed beyond the balanced MOT.
We present a theoretical model to describe an instability mechanism in ultra-cold gases, where long-range interactions are taken into account. Focusing on the nonlinear coupling between the collective (plasma-like) and the center-of-mass modes, we show that the resulting dynamics is governed by a parametric equation of the generalized Mathieu type and compute the corresponding stability chart. We apply our model to typical ranges of magneto-optical traps (MOT) parameters and find a good agreement with previous experimental observations.