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Journal of Optics A Pure and Applied Optics

Atomic trapping and guiding by quasi-dark hollow beams

Zhaoying Wang, Yiming Dong, Qiang Lin

Published Feb 4, 2005• 47 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A theoretical investigation of atomic trapping and guiding by quasi-dark hollow beams is presented in this paper. By quasi-dark hollow beams we refer to beams of which the axial intensity is lower than the surrounding intensity, but not equal to zero. A new theoretical model of quasi-dark hollow beams is applied, which is appropriate to describe some kinds of practical hollow beams. The dependences of the corresponding atom trap resolution, the maximum possible detuning, the trap darkness factor and the ensemble-averaged spontaneous photon scattering rate on the beam parameters are analysed in detail. The relations among optical beam waist size, guide distance, darkness ratio and minimum detuning are obtained. The results obtained can not only explain the existed trapping experiments, but also predict the requirements on the beam quality to achieve particular atomic trapping and guiding.

DOI
10.1088/1464-4258/7/3/009

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A theoretical investigation of atomic trapping and guiding by quasi-dark hollow beams is presented in this paper. By quasi-dark hollow beams we refer to beams of which the axial intensity is lower than the surrounding intensity, but not equal to zero. A new theoretical model of quasi-dark hollow beams is applied, which is appropriate to describe some kinds of practical hollow beams. The dependences of the corresponding atom trap resolution, the maximum possible detuning, the trap darkness factor and the ensemble-averaged spontaneous photon scattering rate on the beam parameters are analysed in detail. The relations among optical beam waist size, guide distance, darkness ratio and minimum detuning are obtained. The results obtained can not only explain the existed trapping experiments, but also predict the requirements on the beam quality to achieve particular atomic trapping and guiding.
Firstly the interaction of a three-level /spl Lambda/-type atom with a blue-detuning dark hollow beam is described in the dressed-atom picture. The dipole potential and radiation pressure forces are derived, and the spontaneous emission processes between both adjacent manifolds are analyzed in detail. Then through Monte Carlo simulation, the relations between the guiding efficiency and the detuning in varieties of conditions are acquired. We found that the guiding efficiency also depends on guiding direction relative to the propagation direction of the hollow beam except for the intensity and configuration of the hollow beam and pressure of the chamber, when both directions are opposite, the optimal detuning is in high detuning region, the value is similar to the experimental value. Furthermore, we calculated the final velocity distribution of atoms guided by the hollow beam, we found that in same direction case, even though in low detuning region the guiding efficiency is high, but the radial and longitudinal coherence are seriously destroyed, the most atoms are much heated. It is not useful in application to atom optics experiments. The main factors are the radiation pressure forces and photon scattering effects. Finally we found that the atoms can only be guided in the high detuning region, and their coherence will be held whether same or opposite direction.
We propose and analyze theoretically a scheme for atomic guiding and cooling in a dark hollow laser beam generated from the collimated output beam of a LP01{\mathrm{LP}}_{01}LP01​ mode in a micrometer-sized hollow optical fiber. In the scheme, cold atoms from a magneto-optical trap are loaded into the blue-detuned dark hollow beam, move down in the dark hollow beam, and experience transverse Sisyphus cooling induced by the dark hollow beam and a weak repumping beam. In the longitudinal direction, the guided atoms experience heating from the gravity field and cooling from the upward-propagating dark hollow beam and repumping beam. We estimate the transverse two-dimensional equilibrium temperature, the final longitudinal mean velocity, and the total loss of the guided atoms. Our calculations show that a transverse equilibrium temperature of $\ensuremath{\sim}1.2\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{K},$ a final longitudinal mean velocity of 0--4.41 m/s, and a guiding efficiency of 65--95 % may be obtained.
We analyze the optical potential for atom guidance in a dark hollow laser beam and compare it with that generated by the evanescent wave in a micrometer-sized hollow optical fiber. We calculate dependence of the optical potential on various parameters: radial position r, laser–atom detuning Δ, beam power P0, and propagation distance Z. We experimentally generated a dark hollow laser beam from a hollow optical fiber with a 7-μm hole diameter and obtained a coupling efficiency of ∼50% for the LP01 mode. Our study shows that a dark hollow laser beam can produce an optical potential deep enough to guide cold atoms from a magneto-optical trap.
One of the more promising proposals for guiding and focusing neutral atoms involves dark hollow laser beams. When the frequency of the laser is detuned to the blue of resonance, the dipole force the atoms feel in the light confines them to the dark core where the atoms can be transported with minimal interaction with the light. The ability of the all-light atom guides to transport large number of ultracold atoms for long distances without physical walls leads to the possibility of a versatile tool for atom lithography, atom interferometry, atomic spectroscopy as well as for transporting and manipulating Bose-Einstein condensates. Furthermore since the atoms transported in all-light atom guides do not come into contact with matter, they can in principle be used to transport antimatter as well. In this work a hollow beam atom tunnel is demonstrated by guiding magneto-optically trapped ultracold cesium atoms with a hollow core laser beam. The 1mm diameter diffractionless hollow beam used to construct the atom tunnel was generated from a TEM00 mode diode laser at 852 nm using a series of axicons and simple lenses. The axicon generated hollow beam has a dark core extended for most of its diameter and
We present a general theory of atom guiding in a blue-detuned hollow laser beam. Using the dressed-atom approach, we obtain the mean dipole gradient force, the radiation pressure force, and the momentum diffusion coefficients for three-level Λ-type cold atoms. Using Monte Carlo simulation, we calculate the guiding efficiencies and the final velocity distributions of atoms for various conditions. We find that the guiding efficiency depends not only on the intensity and detuning of the guiding hollow beam but also on the atom-guiding direction with respect to the propagation direction of the hollow laser beam. Comparing our analyses with recent experimental results, we find that they are mutually consistent. The results that we present can also be applied to atom guiding by hollow optical fibers.
We propose a new scheme for constructing a single-beam dark optical trap that minimizes light-induced perturbations of the trapped atoms. The proposed scheme optimizes the trap depth for given trapping laser power and detuning by creating a light envelope with (a) an almost minimal surface area for a given volume and (b) the minimal wall thickness that is allowed by diffraction. The stiffness of the trap’s walls, combined with the large detuning allowed by the efficient distribution of light intensity, yields a low spontaneous photon scattering rate for the trapped atoms. Our trap also optimizes the loading efficiency by maximizing the geometrical overlap between a magneto-optical trap and the dipole trap. We demonstrate this new scheme by generating the proposed light distribution of a single-beam dark trap with a trap depth that is ∼33 times larger than that of existing blue-detuned traps and ∼13 times larger than that of a red-detuned trap with the same diameter, detuning, and laser power. Trapped atoms are predicted to have a decoherence rate that is >200 times smaller than in existing single-beam dark traps and ∼1800 times smaller than in a red-detuned trap with the same diameter, depth, and laser power.