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Europhysics Letters (EPL)

Elastic Scattering of Rubidium Atoms by Two Crossed Standing Waves

Andreas Hemmerich, D. Schropp, Tilman Esslinger, Theodor W. Hänsch

Published Mar 1, 1992• 17 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We have observed elastic scattering of collimated thermal rubidium beam by two crossed intense optical standing waves with controlled time-phase difference. The deflection of the atoms is spatially resolved in two dimensions by means of fluorescence detection. The time-phase difference is identified as an important parameter for the kinematics of the atoms. Our experimental observations are in good agreement with a Monte Carlo simulation.

DOI
10.1209/0295-5075/18/5/003

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We have observed elastic scattering of collimated thermal rubidium beam by two crossed intense optical standing waves with controlled time-phase difference. The deflection of the atoms is spatially resolved in two dimensions by means of fluorescence detection. The time-phase difference is identified as an important parameter for the kinematics of the atoms. Our experimental observations are in good agreement with a Monte Carlo simulation.
We have experimentally studied the interaction of a collimated thermal rubidium beam with a two-dimensional intense standing wave generated in the intersection area of the TEM00{\mathrm{TEM}}_{00}TEM00​ modes of two mutually orthogonal linear optical resonators. The relative time-phase difference of the two resonator modes was controlled. We observe transverse confinement of the atoms in the node or antinode structure of the standing wave and a deflection of the atoms after their passage through the light field. In both cases the time-phase difference can be identified as an important parameter for the kinematics of the interaction process between atoms and standing waves. Our experimental data are in qualitative agreement with the results of a Monte Carlo simulation based on a two-level atom.
We have observed the vibrational levels of rubidium atoms spatially confined in two dimensions by two crossed optical standing waves (oriented along the x and y axes) with mutually orthogonal linear polarization (in the x-y plane). When the two standing waves oscillate with a 90\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} time phase delay, the atoms are confined by dipole forces to the intensity maxima forming a two-dimensional collimated array of linear de Broglie waveguides, spaced by half an optical wavelength. When the standing waves oscillate in phase no vibrational energy structure can be observed.
We have observed momentum transfer from a standing-wave light field to an atomic beam. The atomic beam is split symmetrically into two peaks whose separation increases with field strength. The short interaction time ensures that this deflection is due to induced forces; these are described using a semiclassical dressed-atom treatment, which gives good agreement with the data. In addition to the splitting, we have observed diffraction of the atomic beam due to the exchange of even numbers of photons with the field.
We have constructed an atom interferometer by Bragg deflecting a collimated beam of metastable neon atoms from three parallel standing waves. Interference fringes have been observed using atoms Bragg scattered at up to the third order, giving a maximum of $6\ensuremath{\Elzxh}k$ transverse momentum difference between the two arms of the interferometer. In the first order case we have achieved a fringe contrast of 62% and a peak to peak signal of 1700 atoms/s. We believe this to be the highest fringe contrast that has been achieved in atom interferometers.
Atoms moving in an intense, near resonant standing wave (SW) experience a force along the direction of the SW. This force has been investigated by observing its effect on the transverse velocities of atoms in a thermal beam. When the standing wave is tuned above resonance the atomic beam is collimated and has an increased intensity at the center of the beam. Below resonance, the SW anti-collimates the atomic beam, reducing the central intensity. These effects are due to the interaction between the induced atomic dipole and the inhomogeneous field of the SW. Further investigation shows structure in the transverse velocity distribution of the atomic beam. This structure is due to multiphoton (Doppleron) resonances in the force. Calculations reproduce the dipole force and multiphoton resonance effects and are in good agreement with the data.
Deflection of an atomic beam passing through two crossed standing light waves is proposed for studies of transition through the Raman resonance in Λ -atomic systems. Considering different regimes of excitation of Λ -atoms by offresonant standing waves, we demonstrate that the deflection patterns, in the plane perpendicular to the direction of the center of atomic mass motion, are essentially different for the cases of one-photon and two-photon excitations. Visualization of the quantum superposition states of low atomic levels on the two-dimensional spatial patterns of atomic deflection is performed.