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Journal of the Optical Society of America B

Dark-hollow-beam guiding and splitting of a low-velocity atomic beam

Min Yan, Jianping Yin, Yifu Zhu

Published Nov 1, 2000• 43 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We observed guiding, collimating, focusing, and splitting of a continuous, low-velocity rubidium atomic beam with a blue-detuned dark-hollow laser beam. The low-velocity atomic beam was produced in a magneto-optical trap and was loaded into the dark center of the hollow beam. By overlapping the dark-hollow beam with the atomic beam, the rubidium atoms could be collimated or focused. When the dark-hollow beam intercepted the atomic beam at an angle, two spatially separated rubidium atomic beams were produced, one of which was extracted and guided by the dark-hollow beam.

DOI
10.1364/josab.17.001817

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We observed guiding, collimating, focusing, and splitting of a continuous, low-velocity rubidium atomic beam with a blue-detuned dark-hollow laser beam. The low-velocity atomic beam was produced in a magneto-optical trap and was loaded into the dark center of the hollow beam. By overlapping the dark-hollow beam with the atomic beam, the rubidium atoms could be collimated or focused. When the dark-hollow beam intercepted the atomic beam at an angle, two spatially separated rubidium atomic beams were produced, one of which was extracted and guided by the dark-hollow beam.
Optical guiding of ^Rb atoms in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) by a blue-detuned horizontal hollow laser beam is demonstrated experimentally. The guiding efficiency and the velocity distribution of the guided atoms are found to have strong dependence on the detuning of the guiding laser. In particular, the optimum guiding occurs when the blue detuning of the hollow laser beam is approximately equal to the hyperfine structure splitting of the ^85Rb ground states, in good agreement with the theoretical analysis based on a three-level model.
We have produced and characterized an intense, slow, and highly collimated atomic beam extracted from a standard vapor cell magneto-optical trap (MOT). The technique used is dramatically simpler than previous methods for producing very cold atomic beams. We have created a 0.6 mm diameter rubidium atomic beam with a continuous flux of $5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{9}/\mathrm{s}$ and a pulsed flux 10 times greater. Its longitudinal velocity distribution is centered at 14 m/s with a FWHM of 2.7 m/s. Through an efficient recycling process, 70% of the atoms trapped in the MOT are loaded into the atomic beam.
Optical guiding of 85 Rb atoms in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) by a blue-detuned horizontal hollow laser beam is demonstrated experimentally. The guiding efficiency and the velocity distribution of the guided atoms are found to have strong dependence on the detuning of the guiding laser. In particular, the optimum guiding occurs when the blue detuning of the hollow laser beam is approximately equal to the hyperfine structure splitting of the 85 Rb ground states, in good agreement with the theoretical analysis based on a three-level model.
One of the more promising proposals for guiding and focusing neutral atoms involves dark hollow laser beams. When the frequency of the laser is detuned to the blue of resonance, the dipole force the atoms feel in the light confines them to the dark core where the atoms can be transported with minimal interaction with the light. The ability of the all-light atom guides to transport large number of ultracold atoms for long distances without physical walls leads to the possibility of a versatile tool for atom lithography, atom interferometry, atomic spectroscopy as well as for transporting and manipulating Bose-Einstein condensates. Furthermore since the atoms transported in all-light atom guides do not come into contact with matter, they can in principle be used to transport antimatter as well. In this work a hollow beam atom tunnel is demonstrated by guiding magneto-optically trapped ultracold cesium atoms with a hollow core laser beam. The 1mm diameter diffractionless hollow beam used to construct the atom tunnel was generated from a TEM00 mode diode laser at 852 nm using a series of axicons and simple lenses. The axicon generated hollow beam has a dark core extended for most of its diameter and
Summary form only given. The widespread use of magneto-optical traps (MOT) and the development of BEC over the last 10 years have led to the field of atom optics. This field requires the use of equivalent elements to optical mirrors, lenses and beam splitters. The generation of a large deviation atomic beam splitter is one of the most important goals, as it allows the construction of atom interferometers. Optical methods for achieving these elements are enticing, as the use of laser beams would make it easier to alter parameters of your guides within a vacuum chamber. Recent work has demonstrated the use of optical beams to guide and split atoms from a cold atom source. Here we present novel experimental studies of the optical guiding (in both the red- and blue-detuned regime) of a low-velocity intense source (LVIS) of atoms emanating from a rubidium MOT.
Summary form only given. The optical guidance of cold atoms by the hollow laser beam (HLB) with blue detuning has been well understood experimentally and theoretically (Xinye Xu et al, 2000). Based on this clear understanding and the development of an efficient atomic guiding, we have performed the experiment of optically guided atomic fountain by using a blue-detuned cylindrical HLB. An HLB was generated from a micron-sized hollow optical fiber and collimated by the objective lens and propagates downwards to the center of a magneto-optical trap (MOT). We have demonstrated tenfold enhancement of the atom-funneling efficiency for the HLB-guided atomic fountain, which may lead to improved performance of atom optical experiments based on the atomic fountain such as the Rb atomic clock.