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Physical Review Letters

Probing a Singular Potential with Cold Atoms: A Neutral Atom and a Charged Wire

Johannes Hecker Denschlag, Gerhard Umshaus, Jörg Schmiedmayer

Published Jul 27, 1998• 108 citations
Publisher

Abstract

By charging a thin wire we realize a pure attractive $1/{r}^{2}$ potential of variable strength for cold neutral atoms. Scattering experiments are performed where the charged wire is placed inside a confined gas of cold lithium atoms. We observe the ``falling'' of atoms into the $1/{r}^{2}$ singularity which so far has been only theoretically discussed in textbooks.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.81.737

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By charging a thin wire we realize a pure attractive 1/r21/{r}^{2}1/r2 potential of variable strength for cold neutral atoms. Scattering experiments are performed where the charged wire is placed inside a confined gas of cold lithium atoms. We observe the ``falling'' of atoms into the 1/r21/{r}^{2}1/r2 singularity which so far has been only theoretically discussed in textbooks.
Summary form only given.Cooling and trapping techniques developed in recent years allow for the preparation of cold and dense samples of neutral atoms with a typical deBroglie wavelength of the order of 100 nm or larger, which is in the range of modern nanofabrication technology. In our work we study the motion of cold neutral atoms in potentials that are produced by thin material filaments . In particular, we will discuss the interactions suitable for guiding and trapping neutral atoms/molecules.
This article outlines the basic physical principles of the magnetic atom reflector and summarizes the state of experiments performed by our group. I also discuss several new ideas for extending the magnetic reflector to confine atoms to a plane, a wire or a dot. These ideas aim at the general problem of controlling atomic motion for use in atom optics. The two–dimensional gas provides a new system in which to study quantum statistical properties such as Bose–Einstein condensation and other phase transitions. The confinement of cold atoms to wires and dots leads naturally towards the realization of a quantum computer.