This conference, held at Internationales Wissenschaftsforum, Heidelberg, Germany, from 4-8 April 2005, brought together physicists, chemists, and surface scientists from around the world to discuss advances in our understanding of how atoms and molecules interact with each other and with applied fields when they are near surfaces. The fields include static magnetic and electric fields as well as electromagnetic fields in the optical frequency range. This understanding is, of course, essential for the controlled manipulation of matter at the atomic scale by micro- and nanostructured devices. Several principal themes motivate the efforts of this interdisciplinary community: the fundamental physics of quantum degenerate gases near surfaces, the realisation of `atom chips' for the construction of quantum information gates and registers, the development of integrated `on chip' sources providing atoms on demand, the ability to control precision doping, at the atomic level, new molecular spectroscopies appearing under reduced dimensionality imposed by surfaces, and advances in STM and AFM `bottom up' construction of functional devices, starting from the fundamental atom building block. What follows here are the written CAMS proceedings based on the presentations, oral and poster, of the research pursued by the various participating groups. CAMS was organised and supported by FASTNet, Field-Atom-Surface Training Network, a 5th Framework Research and Training Network of the European Union. A sister network, ATOMCHIPS, also participated in the financial and scientific support of the conference. The CAMS workshop emphasised the participation of the young scientists, post-docs and pre-docs of the two networks. In addition financial support from the European Science Foundation is gratefully acknowledged. The conference was held at the Internationales Wissenschaftsforum of the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg. The excellent facilities and the competent support of the professional staff, headed by Dr Theresa Reiter, managing director, created a genial environment for scientific discussion and exchange. Their invaluable assistance is also gratefully acknowledged.
This conference, held at Internationales Wissenschaftsforum, Heidelberg, Germany, from 4-8 April 2005, brought together physicists, chemists, and surface scientists from around the world to discuss advances in our understanding of how atoms and molecules interact with each other and with applied fields when they are near surfaces. The fields include static magnetic and electric fields as well as electromagnetic fields in the optical frequency range. This understanding is, of course, essential for the controlled manipulation of matter at the atomic scale by micro- and nanostructured devices. Several principal themes motivate the efforts of this interdisciplinary community: the fundamental physics of quantum degenerate gases near surfaces, the realisation of atom chips' for the construction of quantum information gates and registers, the development of integrated on chip' sources providing atoms on demand, the ability to control precision doping, at the atomic level, new molecular spectroscopies appearing under reduced dimensionality imposed by surfaces, and advances in STM and AFM `bottom up' construction of functional devices, starting from the fundamental atom building block. What follows here are the written CAMS proceedings based on the presentations, oral and poster, of the research pursued by the various participating groups. CAMS was organised and supported by FASTNet, Field-Atom-Surface Training Network, a 5th Framework Research and Training Network of the European Union. A sister network, ATOMCHIPS, also participated in the financial and scientific support of the conference. The CAMS workshop emphasised the participation of the young scientists, post-docs and pre-docs of the two networks. In addition financial support from the European Science Foundation is gratefully acknowledged. The conference was held at the Internationales Wissenschaftsforum of the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg. The excellent facilities and the competent support of the professional staff, headed by Dr Theresa Reiter, managing director, created a genial environment for scientific discussion and exchange. Their invaluable assistance is also gratefully acknowledged.
This Special Issue of Journal of Optics B: Quantum and Semiclassical Optics brings together the contributions of various researchers working on theoretical and experimental aspects of cold quantum gases. Different aspects of atom optics, matter wave interferometry, laser manipulation of atoms and molecules, and production of very cold and degenerate gases are presented. The variety of subjects demonstrates the steadily expanding role associated with this research area. The topics discussed in this issue, extending from basic physics to applications of atom optics and of cold atomic samples, include: •Bose--Einstein condensation •Fermi degenerate gases •Characterization and manipulation of quantum gases •Coherent and nonlinear cold matter wave optics •New schemes for laser cooling •Coherent cold molecular gases •Ultra-precise atomic clocks •Applications of cold quantum gases to metrology and spectroscopy •Applications of cold quantum gases to quantum computing •Nanoprobes and nanolithography. This special issue is published in connection with the 7th International Workshop on Atom Optics and Interferometry, held in Lunteren, The Netherlands, from 28 September to 2 October 2002. This was the last in a series of Workshops organized with the support of the European Community that have greatly contributed to progress in this area. The scientific part of the Workshop was managed by A Hemmerich, W Hogervorst, W Vassen and J T M Walraven, with input from members of the International Programme Committee who are listed below. The practical aspects of the organization were ably handled by Petra de Gijsel from the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. The Workshop was funded by the European Science Foundation (programme BEC2000+), the European Networks 'Cold Quantum Gases (CQG)', coordinated by E Arimondo, and 'Cold Atoms and Ultraprecise Atomic Clocks (CAUAC)', coordinated by J Henningsen, by the German Physical Society (DFG), by the Dutch Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM) and by the Dutch Gelderland province. We thank all these sponsors and the members of the International Programme Committee for making the Workshop such a success. At this point we take the opportunity to express our gratitude to both authors and reviewers, for their efforts in preparing and ensuring the high quality of the papers in this special issue. Wim Vassen Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam Andreas Hemmerich Universität Hamburg Ennio Arimondo Università di Pisa Guest Editors International Programme Committee A Aspect Orsay, France E Cornell Boulder, USA W Ertmer Hannover, Germany T W Haensch Munich, Germany A Hemmerich Hamburg, Germany W Hogervorst Amsterdam, The Netherlands D Kleppner Cambridge, USA C Salomon Paris, France G V Shlyapnikov Amsterdam, Paris, Moscow S Stringari Trento, Italy W Vassen Amsterdam, The Netherlands J T M Walraven Amsterdam, The Netherlands
In this habilitation thesis, I briefly present my work at Imperial College London on trapping atomic clouds in micro-pyramids fabricated on silicon chips, which led to the fabrication of an on-chip integrated atom source. Next, I describe the research carried out at the Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers in the SAI group. Our experiments demonstrated the temperature dependence of near-field Casimir-Polder interactions due to thermal excitation of surface waves, thus advancing our understanding of the dielectric properties of matter and the quantum vacuum that surrounds it. I also present spectroscopic experiments with atomic vapors confined in nanostructures (nano-sphere opals) aiming at the fabrication of miniature frequency references. Finally, I explore the possibility of performing spectroscopic experiments on molecular gases close to surfaces.
This special issue of Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics (J. Phys. B) is a collection of articles originating from the three-day International Workshop `Theory of Quantum Gases and Quantum Coherence' held in October 2005 in Cortona, Italy. This workshop was aimed at young researchers, PhD students, post-docs and junior researchers, who formed the vast majority of the participants. In addition, a few senior researchers provided a scientific overview of the main topics of discussion. The workshop followed on from previous events held in Salerno, Italy in 2001 and in Levico, Italy in 2003, which gave rise to two special issues in J. Phys. B (volume 34, issue 23 and volume 36, issue 7). The workshop explored theoretical aspects in the field of ultracold quantum gases in connection with the field of condensed matter physics, covering topics such as fermion pairing in the BEC-BCS crossover, low-dimensional systems, strongly interacting gases, disordered systems, spinor gases and boson--fermion mixtures. This special issue provides a scientific link between important research themes common to the two fields and discusses the various possibilities of creating, with ultracold atoms, systems not easily accessible in traditional condensed matter. Due to the strong nexus between theoretical and experimental progress in these fields, some seminars have been devoted to the most recent experiments. The workshop has been extremely successful, due to the very high quality of the contributions and to the active feedback of participants. We thank them all for their competence, enthusiasm and warm participation. The variety of the topics and the high level of the themes discussed in the workshop are reflected in the papers presented here. They stem from oral and poster contributions and include both topical reviews and original research. The papers have been peer reviewed to the usual high standard of J. Phys. B . We would like to take this opportunity to thank the journal's constant and strong commitment to the physics of quantum gases and fundamental quantum systems and especially its Editor-in-Chief, J-M Rost, and the publishing team for making the realization of this special issue possible. Finally, we would like to thank all the institutions and people who have supported the workshop. The European Science Foundation has provided substantial financial support through the programme `Quantum Degenerate Dilute Systems (QUDEDIS)'. Our gratitude goes especially to the steering committee of the QUDEDIS programme and to its chairman, Professor Dr Martin Wilkens. The BEC-CNR-INFM Research and Development Centre on Bose--Einstein Condensation in Trento has been another important source of financial support and for this we especially thank its Director, Professor Sandro Stringari. Last but not least, we gratefully acknowledge the support of the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, its Director, Professor Salvatore Settis, for granting the use of the `Palazzone', the Palazzone's staff for their help in the logistics, and the dean of the `Classe di Scienze' of the Scuola Normale Superiore, Fulvio Ricci, for the travel support granted to some participants.
Interference with atomic and molecular matter waves is a rich branch of atomic physics and quantum optics. It started with atom diffraction from crystal surfaces and the separated oscillatory fields technique used in atomic clocks. Atom interferometry is now reaching maturity as a powerful art with many applications in modern science. In this review the basic tools for coherent atom optics are described including diffraction by nanostructures and laser light, three-grating interferometers, and double wells on atom chips. Scientific advances in a broad range of fields that have resulted from the application of atom interferometers are reviewed. These are grouped in three categories: (i) fundamental quantum science, (ii) precision metrology, and (iii) atomic and molecular physics. Although some experiments with Bose-Einstein condensates are included, the focus of the review is on linear matter wave optics, i.e., phenomena where each single atom interferes with itself.
Since the invention of the scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) in the early 1980s atomic level microscopy has taken on a new dimension. The STM and the atomic force microscope (AFM) have become key instruments in the study of phenomena in the smallest dimensions ranging from magnetism in ultra-thin films, through the understanding of how atoms and molecules organise themselves, to insights into the propagation of electron waves. A good understanding of these issues will facilitate the manufacture of components or devices that are a few atomic dimensions in size and this will have far-reaching implications in fields ranging from medicine through to consumer electronics. As early as the 1970s, the scientific community was discussing the possibility of embedding a few molecules, or even a single molecule, between electrodes to perform the basic switching function. This is now possible in the case of individual components but key challenges lie with the economic commercial fabrication of whole devices. A key challenge lies in determining whether such quantum computers will work and how quantum effects can be used to perform variety of previously unsuspected and potentially useful schemes of information processing.
The Summer School on Quantum Optics, the last of which was organized by J. Held, J. Czub and M. Gil of the Universi ty of Gdansk, at Cetniewo, Poland from 1-8 September 1981 has become a traditional event for young physicists from eastern and western European countries to discuss recent developments in their fields and to keep in contact.At Cetniewo, about 80 students and scientists from seven coun tries met at the well-appointed sports train ing centre on the Baltic sea.Three main subjects had been chosen and there were presented by lectures at sessions covering respectively experimental and theoretical aspects.(1) The quantum theory of electromagnetic fields and their interaction with atoms and molecules were highlighted in a series of lectures which included light-induced collisional energy transfer and changes in ato mic eigenstates by off-resonant monochro matic light.It was shown, that the emis sion spectrum of a resonant-excited two level system contains sidebands at the atomic Rabi-frequency of the laser field.Coherence and saturation phenomena in photoionisation and different aspects of optical bistability were also treated.(2) Recent experimental developments in quantum optics and atomic physics gave special emphasis to the spectroscopy of Rydberg atoms.New results of double resonance experiments on high levels in in dium served as an example to demonstrate the remarkably good agreement between theory and experiment.The use of ther mionic diodes in experiments on lithium have allowed the determination of ground state isotope shifts, which had not been detected in Rydberg D-states.The possibi lity of using sensitive Rydberg-spectroscopy for the detection of infrared photons was discussed.Another interesting subject was trapped-ion spectroscopy.Very high precision experiments in different laborato ries on hyperfine splittings have successful ly demonstrated ion cooling, which was discussed in detail at the school.This ses sion was completed by a lecture about X-ray polarisation in atomic collisions.(3) The third session covered reactive colli sions including the basis and recent results in chemiluminescence, chemical lasers, in vestigations of collisional energy transfer in vibrationally excited molecules, reactive formation of molecules in collisions and molecular beam scattering from solid sur faces.