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Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE

Trapping atoms with optical potentials

S. L. Rolston, Christoph Gerz, Kristian Helmerson, Poul Jessen, Paul D. Lett, William D. Phillips, R. J. C. Spreeuw, Christoph Ira Westbrook

Published Oct 28, 1992• 18 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Ultralow temperatures produced with polarization-gradient cooling now allow atoms to be trapped in shallow optical potential wells. We present evidence for the quantized motion of atoms in a 1-D optical molasses with the observation of spontaneous Raman transitions between vibrational levels in these wells, observed in fluorescence. In addition, we discuss the features of a far off resonance trap (FORT) -- a single focus dipole force trap so far off resonance to be an essentially ground-state trap.

DOI
10.1117/12.130392

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Ultralow temperatures produced with polarization-gradient cooling now allow atoms to be trapped in shallow optical potential wells. We present evidence for the quantized motion of atoms in a 1-D optical molasses with the observation of spontaneous Raman transitions between vibrational levels in these wells, observed in fluorescence. In addition, we discuss the features of a far off resonance trap (FORT) -- a single focus dipole force trap so far off resonance to be an essentially ground-state trap.
We have measured the spectrum of fluorescence from 85Rb in 1-D optical molasses. The spectrum consists of a central peak and one set of sidebands characteristic of quantized atomic motion. In a 1-D molasses consisting of two counterpropagating, linear, and orthogonally polarized laser beams, optical potential wells are spaced λ/4 apart where the polarization is circular. Polarization gradient cooling reduces the temperature to a point where the atoms are trapped in these wells. The atomic motion is approximated by a quantum mechanical harmonic oscillator. We interpret the central peak as transitions beginning and ending in the same bound level and the sidebands as Raman transitions changing the vibrational quantum number by ±1. The observed level spacing in the well is proportional to the square root of the light shift. The relative strength of the blue and red sideband is given by a Boltzman factor, allowing us to determine the temperature. As expected, the temperature increases linearly with the light shift.
In two recent experiments Verkerk et al. and our group have observed quantization of the center-of-mass motion of laser cooled atoms in sub-wavelength sized potential wells formed by the light field of a 1-dimensional optical molasses. Our 1-dimensional optical molasses consists of a pair of counterpropagating laser beams of orthogonal, linear polarization, creating a series of potential wells separated by {lambda}/4. Polarization gradient laser cooling reduces the thermal energy of the atoms until they are trapped in well resolved vibrational levels near the bottom of the wells. Transitions between these vibrational levels are seen in a high resolution spectrum of fluorescence, where they give rise to a Rayleigh peak centered at the laser frequency, and well resolved Raman sidebands shifted by a frequency {plus_minus}{omega}, typically on the order of 100 kHz. We find quantitative agreement between the measured level separation h{omega} and the results of a calculation of the bandstructure in the periodic optical potential. Based on the observed ratio of the strength of the blue to the red sideband we determine the temperature of the atoms, and find agreement with theoretical predictions. Based on the level spacing and temperature we find the atoms to be localized to {approx}/15, withmore » up to 50-60% of the population of the trapped atoms in the vibrational ground state. We observe intriguing differences between fluorescence radiated by localized atoms, and the fluorescence radiated by non-localized atoms in a 1-dimensional optical molasses composed of a pair of counterpropagating laser beams of opposite circular polarization. The prospect of observing quantum motion and spatial order in 2 and 3 dimensions, and the consequences for the spectrum of fluorescence, will be discussed.« less
We have observed the quantized motion of atoms trapped in wavelength‐sized optical potential wells. Using high‐resolution spectroscopy of the resonance fluorescence of laser‐cooled Rb atoms, we have identified spontaneous Raman transitions between bound vibrational levels. From the fluorescence spectrum, we can measure the spacing of the vibrational levels, population distributions and temperatures, and determine that the atoms are localized to λ/15. These measurements are in excellent quantitative agreement with recent quantum Monte Carlo calculations.
We observe transitions of laser-cooled Rb between vibrational levels in subwavelength-sized optical potential wells, using high-resolution spectroscopy of resonance fluorescence. We measure the spacing of the levels and the population distribution, and find the atoms to be localized to 1/15 of the optical wavelength. We find up to 60% of the population of trapped atoms in the vibrational ground state. The dependence of the spectrum on the parameters of the optical field provides detailed information about the dynamics of laser-cooled atoms.
We study theoretically the spectrum of resonance fluorescence and laser-cooling dynamics corresponding to quantized atomic motion in one-dimensional optical molasses. We consider an atom with a Jg{\mathit{J}}_{\mathit{g}}Jg​=1\ensuremath{\rightarrow}Je{\mathit{J}}_{\mathit{e}}Je​=2 transition interacting with two counterpropagating laser beams. The laser light is assumed to be linearly polarized with an angle \ensuremath{\theta} between the polarization vectors. We discuss the spectrum of resonance fluorescence, the spectroscopy of band structure in the optical potentials, and the population of the vibrational quantum levels as a function of the angle between the polarization vectors.
It was recently shown that a single atom can efficiently scatter photons out of a focused coherent light beam [1, 2, 3]. The scattering probability is strongly dependent on a thermal motion of the atom and can be maximized if the atom is well localized at a focus. To achieve that, we implement a Raman sideband cooling technique that is commonly used in ion traps [4]. Our trap, formed by focused Gaussian light beam at 980nm, has characteristic frequencies of ντ= 55 kHz and νl= 7 kHz corresponding to transverse and longitudinal confinements. A single87Rb atom is loaded into the trap from an optical molasses. Two Raman beams couple the motional states of |F = 2〉 and |F = 1〉 manifolds with a Lamb-Dicke parameter η = 0.084 (Figure 1). The Raman beams are oriented such that momentum transfer occurs only along the strong confinement of the trap with ντ= 55 kHz. The cooling sequence consists of following steps: (1) initial preparation of the atom in |F = 2,mF= −2〉 Zeeman state, (2) Raman transfer between the motional states |F = 2,mF= −2,N〉 and |F = 1,mF= −1,N − 1〉. (3) recycling the atomic population back to |F = 2,mF= −2〉 state via an optical pulse resonant to |5P3/2, F = 2〉 state thus removing a phonon via spontaneous emission.