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Physical Review A

Magnetic transport of trapped cold atoms over a large distance

Markus Greiner, Immanuel Bloch, Theodor W. Hänsch, Tilman Esslinger

Published Feb 9, 2001• 172 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We report the transport of magnetically trapped cold atoms over a large distance. Atoms are captured in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) and loaded into a magnetic quadrupole trap. The quadrupole potential is then moved over a distance of 33 cm into an ultra-high-vacuum (UHV) chamber using a chain of quadrupole coils. By running suitable currents through the quadrupole coil pairs the trapping geometry of the potential is maintained during the transport process, thus minimizing heating of the trapped atom cloud. Magnetically trapped ${}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ atoms at an initial temperature of $T=125 \ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{K}$ were heated by less than $20 \ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{K}$ during the transport process, and up to ${10}^{9}$ atoms were transferred into the UHV chamber. Due to the spatial separation of the final magnetic trap and the MOT we have been able to capture atoms in the MOT, while storing magnetically trapped atoms in the UHV chamber.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.63.031401

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We report the transport of magnetically trapped cold atoms over a large distance. Atoms are captured in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) and loaded into a magnetic quadrupole trap. The quadrupole potential is then moved over a distance of 33 cm into an ultra-high-vacuum (UHV) chamber using a chain of quadrupole coils. By running suitable currents through the quadrupole coil pairs the trapping geometry of the potential is maintained during the transport process, thus minimizing heating of the trapped atom cloud. Magnetically trapped 87Rb{}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb atoms at an initial temperature of T=125\ensuremathμKT=125 \ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{K}T=125\ensuremathμK were heated by less than 20\ensuremathμK20 \ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{K}20\ensuremathμK during the transport process, and up to 109{10}^{9}109 atoms were transferred into the UHV chamber. Due to the spatial separation of the final magnetic trap and the MOT we have been able to capture atoms in the MOT, while storing magnetically trapped atoms in the UHV chamber.
We report the ultra-high efficiency transport of cold 87 Rb atoms using a moving magnetic quadrupole potential generated by three overlapping pairs of fixed coils. The transfer efficiency is better than 97%, which is the highest ever reported to our knowledge. The temperature increase due to heating is less than 10 when the initial cloud temperature is 110 μK. Our setup is similar to the magnetic transferring belt design [ Phys. Rev. A 63 (2001) 031401(R) ], although it is simpler because the push coil is not required. We use it to transport atoms away from a magneto-optical trap to very close to the wall of the glass cell, facilitating future experiments employing three-dimensional optical lattices, high resolution in-situ imaging, and magnetic Feshbach resonances.
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We consider the problem of transferring a cold atomic cloud from a low-vacuum chamber to an ultra-high-vacuum (UHV) chamber, where it can be recaptured and cooled to the transition temperature for Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC). Our calculation assumes an initial Maxwell–Boltzmann velocity distribution for the thermal cloud and a Gaussian spatial density distribution that is characteristic of magneto-optical traps (MOTs). Using a coordinate transformation we find the density of the recaptured atomic cloud as a function of time. This allows us to investigate the effect of experimental parameters on the transfer efficiency. These parameters include the distance of separation between the two chambers, the duration of the initial on-resonant laser used to push the thermal cloud, and the initial cloud temperature. We also present numerical simulations of the magnetic field due to a simplified Ioffe–Pritchard (IP) trap that has recently been used to obtain BEC using laser-cooling techniques. This trap converts a quadrupole magnetic field into an IP configuration using the magnetic field of a conical solenoid placed orthogonally to the axis of symmetry of a pair of quadrupole coils. Our results are suitable for small experimental groups interested in achieving BEC. PACS No.: 03.75