Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Physical Review Letters

Observation of channeling of atoms in the three-dimensional interference pattern of optical standing waves

N. P. Bigelow, Mara Goff Prentiss

Published Jul 2, 1990• 38 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We have observed the channeling of cooled Na atoms in the three-dimensional interference pattern of the light fields in an optical trap. The channeling occurs for length scales from less than 50 \ensuremath{\mu}m up to several mm. This channeling may explain the anomalously long lifetimes observed in many such traps. We suggest that these observations may be understood in terms of a multilevel atom in the trapping light field.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.65.29

Related papers

Cooling of a single atom in an optical trap inside a resonator

S. J. van Enk, J. McKeever, Harry J. Kimble +1 more

We present detailed discussions of cooling and trapping mechanisms for an atom in an optical trap inside an optical cavity, as relevant to recent experiments. The interference pattern of cavity QED and trapping fields in space makes the trapping wells, in principle, distinguishable from one another. This adds considerable flexibility to creating effective trapping and cooling conditions and to detection possibilities. Friction and diffusion coefficients are calculated in and beyond the low excitation limit and full three-dimensional simulations of the quasiclassical motion of a Cs atom are performed.

arXiv:quant-ph/0005133•Physical Review A•Jun 6, 2001•65 citations

Observations of density variations in trapped atoms

Mara Goff Prentiss, A. Cable

We have demonstrated that a continuous supply of stow atoms can be produced using a strong standing wave laser field collinear with an atomic beam. Using an interaction length of 27 cm, we typically obtained an atomic beam with a density of ~1 × 10−8cm−3, a most probable velocity of 12 m/s, and a width in velocity space of <12 m/s. We used such a cooled atomic beam to load a magnetic molasses trap.1 We found that the motion of atoms in the trap is not always diffusive but can be confined to very narrow channels, which can be curved and can extend over lengths of several millimeters. In addition, the fluorescence due to the trapped atoms was examined using an optical microscope, and we observed that there were strong spatial variations in the fluorescence. The variations had two distinct components: very regular striations due to interference between the trapping light fields and very irregular variations with a characteristic size scale, which was not strongly correlated with that of the interference fringes.

Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference•Apr 24, 1989•0 citations

Observation of diffraction pattern in two-dimensional optically induced atomic lattice

Jinpeng Yuan, Chaohua Wu, Lirong Wang +2 more

The diffraction pattern of a two-dimensional optically induced atomic lattice is reported experimentally in a three-level atomic system. Such a two-dimensional optical lattice is established by two orthogonal standing-wave fields induced by the interference of two pairs of coupling laser beams. When the probe beam is launched into it, a spatially modulated discrete diffraction pattern can be obtained at the output plane of the vapor cell under the electromagnetically induced transparency condition. We investigate the diffraction pattern under different experimental parameters and find that it can be effectively controlled by tuning the coupling laser power and two-photon detuning. Our work may potentially pave the way for studying the control of light and other intriguing physical phenomena based on such a periodically modulated atomic lattice.

Optics Letters•Aug 20, 2019•65 citations

Observation Of Atomic Tunneling From An Accelerating Optical Potential

Kirk W. Madison, C. F. Bharucha, Patrick R. Morrow +3 more

~Received 30 October 1996! We observe quantum tunneling of cold sodium atoms from an accelerating one-dimensional standing wave of light. Atoms are trapped in a far-detuned standing wave that is accelerated for a controlled duration. For sufficiently large values of the acceleration, we observe an exponential decay in the number of atoms that remain trapped as a function of the interaction time. We show that this loss is due to quantum tunneling, and compare the decay rates with Landau-Zener theory. We also observe oscillations in the tunneling rate as a function of the acceleration which are due to quantum interference effects. @S1050-2947~97!50702-5# PACS number~s!: 03.75.Be, 32.80.Pj, 42.50.Vk Tunneling in the center-of mass motion of atoms should become an important process at the low temperatures that are now achieved with laser cooling. This can appear, for example, as a loss mechanism for atoms confined in an optical lattice constructed from interfering beams of light. While atomic motion in these structures has become an active area of research @1,2#, tunneling has been obscured by spontaneous scattering @3#. An alternative atom optics system where tunneling can be significant has appeared in our efforts to develop a cold atomic beam for interferometry. Our approach has been to launch laser-cooled atoms in the potential created by an accelerating, far-detuned, standing wave of light. This system was previously used to study Wannier-Stark ladders @4# and Bloch oscillations @5#. The results reported in this Rapid Communications provide an observation of tunneling in atom optics, and the high degree of experimental control has enabled a quantitative comparison with theory. We consider atomic motion in an accelerating standing wave of light. For sufficiently large detuning from atomic resonance, the atoms remain in their internal ground state and experience an effective one-dimensional potential given by V0cos@2kL(x2at 2 /2)#, where k L52p/l L is the wave number, and a is the acceleration of the standing wave @6#. The well depth V0 is the amplitude of the optical dipole potential. It is proportional to the laser intensity and inversely proportional to detuning from atomic resonance. We neglect variations of the potential in the two transverse directions, which is justified for beams that are sufficiently

Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference•Jan 1, 1997•0 citations

First observation of forces on three-level atoms in Raman resonant standing-wave optical fields

Philip Hemmer, M. S. Shahriar, Mara Goff Prentiss +4 more

A sodium atomic beam is deflected by two optical standing-wave fields which excite near resonance Raman transitions. Observed deflections are consistent with theoretical predictions of a long-range dc component of the force on a three-level atom in the \ensuremath{\Lambda} configuration. The low laser intensities (and small detunings) used, combined with observed evidence of damping in the three-level \ensuremath{\Lambda} system, may ultimately lead to the design of high-density, all optical traps wherein the atoms would be mostly in the dark state.

Physical Review Letters•May 25, 1992•25 citations

Three-Dimensional Optical Molasses Binds a New Type of Crystal

Graham P. Collins

Researchers in Germany and France have bound neutral atoms in regular two- and three-dimensional lattices induced by the interference patterns of several laser beams. The work builds on the techniques of magnetooptical trapping and sub-Doppler laser cooling and on previous work in which atoms were bound in onedimensional standing waves of light. The fields of light in these techniques are called optical molasses, because atoms within them experience viscous forces, which cool the atoms to temperatures on the order of microkelvins. In the new, “crystalline” molasses, the standing waves produce a stable, regular array of potential wells—a microscopic “egg carton”— and the atoms become localized at the bottoms of the wells.

Physics Today•Jun 1, 1993•2 citations
We have observed the channeling of cooled Na atoms in the three-dimensional interference pattern of the light fields in an optical trap. The channeling occurs for length scales from less than 50 \ensuremath{\mu}m up to several mm. This channeling may explain the anomalously long lifetimes observed in many such traps. We suggest that these observations may be understood in terms of a multilevel atom in the trapping light field.
We present detailed discussions of cooling and trapping mechanisms for an atom in an optical trap inside an optical cavity, as relevant to recent experiments. The interference pattern of cavity QED and trapping fields in space makes the trapping wells, in principle, distinguishable from one another. This adds considerable flexibility to creating effective trapping and cooling conditions and to detection possibilities. Friction and diffusion coefficients are calculated in and beyond the low excitation limit and full three-dimensional simulations of the quasiclassical motion of a Cs atom are performed.
We have demonstrated that a continuous supply of stow atoms can be produced using a strong standing wave laser field collinear with an atomic beam. Using an interaction length of 27 cm, we typically obtained an atomic beam with a density of ~1 × 10−8cm−3, a most probable velocity of 12 m/s, and a width in velocity space of <12 m/s. We used such a cooled atomic beam to load a magnetic molasses trap.1 We found that the motion of atoms in the trap is not always diffusive but can be confined to very narrow channels, which can be curved and can extend over lengths of several millimeters. In addition, the fluorescence due to the trapped atoms was examined using an optical microscope, and we observed that there were strong spatial variations in the fluorescence. The variations had two distinct components: very regular striations due to interference between the trapping light fields and very irregular variations with a characteristic size scale, which was not strongly correlated with that of the interference fringes.
The diffraction pattern of a two-dimensional optically induced atomic lattice is reported experimentally in a three-level atomic system. Such a two-dimensional optical lattice is established by two orthogonal standing-wave fields induced by the interference of two pairs of coupling laser beams. When the probe beam is launched into it, a spatially modulated discrete diffraction pattern can be obtained at the output plane of the vapor cell under the electromagnetically induced transparency condition. We investigate the diffraction pattern under different experimental parameters and find that it can be effectively controlled by tuning the coupling laser power and two-photon detuning. Our work may potentially pave the way for studying the control of light and other intriguing physical phenomena based on such a periodically modulated atomic lattice.
~Received 30 October 1996! We observe quantum tunneling of cold sodium atoms from an accelerating one-dimensional standing wave of light. Atoms are trapped in a far-detuned standing wave that is accelerated for a controlled duration. For sufficiently large values of the acceleration, we observe an exponential decay in the number of atoms that remain trapped as a function of the interaction time. We show that this loss is due to quantum tunneling, and compare the decay rates with Landau-Zener theory. We also observe oscillations in the tunneling rate as a function of the acceleration which are due to quantum interference effects. @S1050-2947~97!50702-5# PACS number~s!: 03.75.Be, 32.80.Pj, 42.50.Vk Tunneling in the center-of mass motion of atoms should become an important process at the low temperatures that are now achieved with laser cooling. This can appear, for example, as a loss mechanism for atoms confined in an optical lattice constructed from interfering beams of light. While atomic motion in these structures has become an active area of research @1,2#, tunneling has been obscured by spontaneous scattering @3#. An alternative atom optics system where tunneling can be significant has appeared in our efforts to develop a cold atomic beam for interferometry. Our approach has been to launch laser-cooled atoms in the potential created by an accelerating, far-detuned, standing wave of light. This system was previously used to study Wannier-Stark ladders @4# and Bloch oscillations @5#. The results reported in this Rapid Communications provide an observation of tunneling in atom optics, and the high degree of experimental control has enabled a quantitative comparison with theory. We consider atomic motion in an accelerating standing wave of light. For sufficiently large detuning from atomic resonance, the atoms remain in their internal ground state and experience an effective one-dimensional potential given by V0cos@2kL(x2at 2 /2)#, where k L52p/l L is the wave number, and a is the acceleration of the standing wave @6#. The well depth V0 is the amplitude of the optical dipole potential. It is proportional to the laser intensity and inversely proportional to detuning from atomic resonance. We neglect variations of the potential in the two transverse directions, which is justified for beams that are sufficiently
A sodium atomic beam is deflected by two optical standing-wave fields which excite near resonance Raman transitions. Observed deflections are consistent with theoretical predictions of a long-range dc component of the force on a three-level atom in the \ensuremath{\Lambda} configuration. The low laser intensities (and small detunings) used, combined with observed evidence of damping in the three-level \ensuremath{\Lambda} system, may ultimately lead to the design of high-density, all optical traps wherein the atoms would be mostly in the dark state.
Researchers in Germany and France have bound neutral atoms in regular two- and three-dimensional lattices induced by the interference patterns of several laser beams. The work builds on the techniques of magnetooptical trapping and sub-Doppler laser cooling and on previous work in which atoms were bound in onedimensional standing waves of light. The fields of light in these techniques are called optical molasses, because atoms within them experience viscous forces, which cool the atoms to temperatures on the order of microkelvins. In the new, “crystalline” molasses, the standing waves produce a stable, regular array of potential wells—a microscopic “egg carton”— and the atoms become localized at the bottoms of the wells.