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Europhysics Letters (EPL)

Proposal for a High-Density Dark Optical Trap

Thomas Pellizzari, Helmut Ritsch

Published Jul 20, 1995• 12 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We show that by using an atomic-transition scheme including a common angular momentum J g = 1 atomic ground state and two excited states with angular momenta J e 1 = J e 2 = 1 or J e 1 = 0 and J e 2 = 1, one can construct an all-optical trap, where atoms are trapped and cooled towards a single nearly dark quantum state with a spatial dimension of the order of an optical wavelength. Single-atom calculations for two blue detuned counterpropagating σ + and σ − polarized light fields in one dimension predict that close to 100% of the atomic population will be transferred to the lowest quantum state.

DOI
10.1209/0295-5075/31/3/002

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We show that by using an atomic-transition scheme including a common angular momentum J g = 1 atomic ground state and two excited states with angular momenta J e 1 = J e 2 = 1 or J e 1 = 0 and J e 2 = 1, one can construct an all-optical trap, where atoms are trapped and cooled towards a single nearly dark quantum state with a spatial dimension of the order of an optical wavelength. Single-atom calculations for two blue detuned counterpropagating σ + and σ − polarized light fields in one dimension predict that close to 100% of the atomic population will be transferred to the lowest quantum state.
We create a gray optical lattice structure using a blue detuned laser field coupling an atomic ground state of angular momentum J simultaneously to two excited states with angular momenta J and J-1. The atoms are cooled and trapped at locations of purely circular polarization. The cooling process efficiently accumulates almost half of the atomic population in the lowest-energy band, which is only weakly coupled to the light field. Very low kinetic temperatures are obtained by adiabatically reducing the optical potential. The dynamics of this process is analyzed using a full quantum Monte Carlo simulation. The calculations explicitly show the mapping of the band populations on the corresponding momentum intervals of the free atom. In an experiment with subrecoil momentum resolution we measure the band populations and find excellent absolute agreement with the theoretical calculations.
Laser cooling in a trap is investigated for laser and trapping configurations which allow the existence of approximate ``dark states'' of the combined atom-plus-trap system, i.e., states that are decoupled from the laser light by quantum interference. We show that a one-dimensional (1D) free-particle dark state in angular momentum Jg{\mathit{J}}_{\mathit{g}}Jg​=1 to Je{\mathit{J}}_{\mathit{e}}Je​=1 transitions and in two counterpropagating laser fields survives as an approximate dark state in a ``flat-bottom'' trap of size much larger than the optical wavelength. Furthermore, we show the existence of approximate dark states in 1D harmonic-oscillator potentials. In the latter configuration we are able to provide analytical results.
Laser cooling in a trap is investigated for configurations which allow the existence of "dark states" of the combined atom-plus-trap system, i.e., states which are decoupled from the laser light by quantum interference. Two examples of approximate dark states in a 1D flat bottom and 2D harmonic trap for angular momentum 1 to 1 transitions are discussed. A wave function simulation of the quantum master equation predicts that a significant fraction of the atoms are transferred to a single trap state.
We demonstrate a new type of optical lattice which confines atoms in nearly dark states. The lattice is formed by cooperation of an optical standing wave detuned to the blue with respect to an atomic $F\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}1\ensuremath{\rightarrow}F\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}1$ transition and a homogeneous magnetic field. The atoms are predominantly localized where the light is purely $\ensuremath{\pi}$ polarized such that they are optically pumped to the mF=0{m}_{F}\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}0mF​=0 Zeeman component which is decoupled from the light field. We have observed quantized vibrations of the localized atoms by means of probe transmission spectroscopy. Our ``dark'' optical lattice works in two and three dimensions.
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.
We discuss our recent experimental demonstrations of three novel atom traps which are all based on the optical dipole force in far-detuned laser light. In the gravito-optical surface trap (GOST), Cs atoms are trapped and cooled by means of an evanescent-wave mirror very closely above a dielectric surface. This trap allows for optical cooling at very high densities and provides good starting conditions for evaporative cooling to quantum degeneracy and the realization of a 2D quantum gas. The conical atom trap (CAT) uses a hollow blue-detuned laser beam in combination with gravity to trap atoms in a dark spatial region. This trap is experimentally simple and provides high loading efficiency, tight confinement, efficient sub-Doppler cooling, and strong suppression of collisional losses. The standing-wave red-detuned (STAR) trap allows one to confine atoms in a shallow optical potential at a very low photon scattering rate, and is thus an interesting tool for studies of the atomic ground-state dynamics in external electro-magnetic fields. We have studied atomic spin polarization in this trap.