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Physical Review A

Long spin relaxation times in a single-beam blue-detuned optical trap

Roee Ozeri, Lev Khaykovich, Nir Davidson

Published Mar 1, 1999• 128 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A scheme to trap atoms in a blue-detuned optical dipole trap, formed with a single laser beam and a holographic phase plate, is demonstrated. ${10}^{5}$ rubidium atoms are trapped for (1/e lifetime) \ensuremath{\sim}300 msec, at temperatures of \ensuremath{\sim}24 \ensuremath{\mu}K and a density of $\ensuremath{\sim}7\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{11}{\mathrm{a}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{m}\mathrm{s}/\mathrm{c}\mathrm{m}}^{3},$ for a trapping beam detuning of 0.1--30 nm. The time for a trapped atom to scatter one photon off the trapping beam is measured and found to be linear in the trapping laser detuning. At a detuning of 0.5 nm from resonance this time was measured to be \ensuremath{\sim}100 msec, indicating that the atoms are exposed on average only to \ensuremath{\sim}1/700 of the maximal light intensity in the trap. The use of a single laser beam allows for simple dynamical changes of the potential and large adiabatic compressions, while keeping the atoms mainly in the dark.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.59.r1750

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Journal of the Optical Society of America B•Jul 1, 2000•49 citations
A scheme to trap atoms in a blue-detuned optical dipole trap, formed with a single laser beam and a holographic phase plate, is demonstrated. 105{10}^{5}105 rubidium atoms are trapped for (1/e lifetime) \ensuremath{\sim}300 msec, at temperatures of \ensuremath{\sim}24 \ensuremath{\mu}K and a density of \ensuremath∼7\ifmmode×\else\texttimes\fi1011atoms/cm3,\ensuremath{\sim}7\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{11}{\mathrm{a}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{m}\mathrm{s}/\mathrm{c}\mathrm{m}}^{3},\ensuremath∼7\ifmmode×\else\texttimes\fi1011atoms/cm3, for a trapping beam detuning of 0.1--30 nm. The time for a trapped atom to scatter one photon off the trapping beam is measured and found to be linear in the trapping laser detuning. At a detuning of 0.5 nm from resonance this time was measured to be \ensuremath{\sim}100 msec, indicating that the atoms are exposed on average only to \ensuremath{\sim}1/700 of the maximal light intensity in the trap. The use of a single laser beam allows for simple dynamical changes of the potential and large adiabatic compressions, while keeping the atoms mainly in the dark.
We propose and demonstrate a scheme for a blue-detuned optical dipole trap for cold atoms which consists of a single, rapidly rotating laser beam. We characterize a parameter range in which the optical potential can be accurately described by a quasistatic time-averaged potential. The trap is loaded with >106>{10}^{6}>106 Rb atoms, and is then compressed adiabatically by a factor of 350 to a final density of $5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{13}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}3}.$ $\mathrm{A}\ensuremath{\sim}4$ times adiabatic increase in the peak phase-space density of the trapped atoms is obtained due to the change in the shape of the trap potential. The two-body elastic and inelastic collision rates of atoms in the compressed trap are determined.
Summary form only given. Blue-detuned optical traps confine neutral atoms mostly in the dark, therefore reducing the perturbations induced by the trapping light on the atoms. Recently, traps based on a single laser beam were demonstrated, providing greater experimental simplicity and enabling dynamical changes of the trap geometry and strength. However, all these traps have a large difference in the potential strength in the radial and axial directions, resulting in a very inefficient use of the available laser power, and a poor loading efficiency from the magneto-optical trap. In this work we present a novel optical scheme to generate an optimal trap, which maximizes the trap depth, and greatly reduces the light-induced perturbations to the atoms. This is achieved by surrounding a dark volume with a light envelope having (a) an almost minimal surface area for a given volume, (b) the minimal wall thickness allowed by diffraction, and (c) an almost constant wall height on every point on the envelope. The stiffness of the walls, combined with the large detuning allowed by the efficient distribution of light intensity, yield a very low photon scattering rate for the trapped atoms.
We propose a new scheme for constructing a single-beam dark optical trap that minimizes light-induced perturbations of the trapped atoms. The proposed scheme optimizes the trap depth for given trapping laser power and detuning by creating a light envelope with (a) an almost minimal surface area for a given volume and (b) the minimal wall thickness that is allowed by diffraction. The stiffness of the trap’s walls, combined with the large detuning allowed by the efficient distribution of light intensity, yields a low spontaneous photon scattering rate for the trapped atoms. Our trap also optimizes the loading efficiency by maximizing the geometrical overlap between a magneto-optical trap and the dipole trap. We demonstrate this new scheme by generating the proposed light distribution of a single-beam dark trap with a trap depth that is ∼33 times larger than that of existing blue-detuned traps and ∼13 times larger than that of a red-detuned trap with the same diameter, detuning, and laser power. Trapped atoms are predicted to have a decoherence rate that is >200 times smaller than in existing single-beam dark traps and ∼1800 times smaller than in a red-detuned trap with the same diameter, depth, and laser power.