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Physical Review Letters

Coherent Splitting of Bose-Einstein Condensed Atoms with Optically Induced Bragg Diffraction

Mikio Kozuma, L. Deng, E. W. Hagley, Jiping Wen, Robert Lutwak, Kristian Helmerson, S. L. Rolston, William D. Phillips

Published Feb 1, 1999• 464 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We have observed Bragg diffraction of a Bose-Einstein condensate of sodium atoms by a moving, periodic, optical potential. The coherent process of Bragg diffraction produced a splitting of the condensate with unidirectional momentum transfer. Using the momentum selectivity of the Bragg process, we separated a condensate component with a momentum width narrower than that of the original condensate. By repeatedly pulsing the optical potential while the atoms were trapped, we observed the trajectory of the split atomic wave packets in the confining magnetic potential.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.82.871

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We have observed Bragg diffraction of a Bose-Einstein condensate of sodium atoms by a moving, periodic, optical potential. The coherent process of Bragg diffraction produced a splitting of the condensate with unidirectional momentum transfer. Using the momentum selectivity of the Bragg process, we separated a condensate component with a momentum width narrower than that of the original condensate. By repeatedly pulsing the optical potential while the atoms were trapped, we observed the trajectory of the split atomic wave packets in the confining magnetic potential.
The use of off-resonant standing light waves to manipulate ultracold atoms is investigated. Previous work has illustrated that Bragg diffraction can provide efficient beam-splitting and reflection operations for atomic wave packets. The performance of these operations is characterized experimentally using Bose-Einstein condensates confined in a weak magnetic trap. Fidelities of 0.99 for beam splitting and 0.98 for reflection are observed, and splitting operations of up to third order are achieved. The dependence of the operations on light intensity and atomic velocity is measured and found to agree well with theoretical estimates.
The use of off-resonant standing light waves to manipulate ultracold atoms is investigated. Previous work has illustrated that optical pulses can provide efficient beam-splitting and reflection operations for atomic wave packets. The performance of these operations is characterized experimentally using Bose-Einstein condensates confined in a weak magnetic trap. Under optimum conditions, fidelities of up to 0.99 for beam splitting and 0.98 for reflection are observed, and splitting operations of up to third order are achieved. The dependence of the operations on light intensity and atomic velocity is measured and found to agree well with theoretical estimates.
We have used a microfabricated atom chip to split a single Bose-Einstein condensate of sodium atoms into two spatially separated condensates. Dynamical splitting was achieved by deforming the trap along the tightly confining direction into a purely magnetic double-well potential. We observed the matter wave interference pattern formed upon releasing the condensates from the microtraps. The intrinsic features of the quartic potential at the merge point, such as zero trap frequency and extremely high field-sensitivity, caused random variations of the relative phase between the two split condensates. Moreover, the perturbation from the abrupt change of the trapping potential during the splitting was observed to induce vortices.
We have used a microfabricated atom chip to split a single Bose-Einstein condensate of sodium atoms into two spatially separated condensates. Dynamical splitting was achieved by deforming the trap along the tightly confining direction into a purely magnetic double-well potential. We observed the matter wave interference pattern formed upon releasing the condensates from the microtraps. The intrinsic features of the quartic potential at the merge point, such as zero trap frequency and extremely high field-sensitivity, caused random variations of the relative phase between the two split condensates. Moreover, the perturbation from the abrupt change of the trapping potential during the splitting was observed to induce vortices.
We present a theoretical analysis of the coherent acceleration of atomic Bose-Einstein condensates. A first scheme relies on the ``conveyor belt'' provided by a frequency-chirped optical lattice. For potentials shallow enough that the condensate is not fragmented, the acceleration can be interpreted in terms of sequential Bragg scattering, with the atomic sample undergoing transitions to a succession of discrete momentum sidemodes. The narrow momentum width of these sidemodes offers the possibility to accelerate an ultracold atomic sample such as, e.g., a Bose-Einstein condensate without change in its momentum distribution. This is in contrast to classical point particles, for which this kind of acceleration leads to a substantial heating of the sample. A second scheme is based on the idea of a synchronous particle accelerator consisting of a spatial array of quadrupole traps. Pulsing the trapping potential creates a traveling trap that confines and accelerates the atomic system. We study this process using the concept of phase stability.