Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

EPJ Web of Conferences

Laser Cooling of Lanthanides: from Optical Clocks to Quantum Simulators

Artem A. Golovizin, Елена Сергеевна Калганова, Gulnara A. Vishnyakova, Dmitry O. Tregubov, Ksenia Yu. Khabarova, В. Н. Сорокин, N. Kolachevsky

Published Jan 1, 2015• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

We discuss current progress in laser cooling of lanthanides (Er, Yb, Dy, Tm etc.) focusing on applications. We describe some important peculiarities taking Thulium atom as an example: Two stage laser cooling, trapping in an optical lattice, anisotropic interactions and spectroscopy of narrow transitions. Specific level structure and presence of magic wavelengths make ultracold Thulium a favorable candidate for optical clock applications. On the other hand, abundance of Feshbach resonances allow to tune interactions in ultracold gases and thus reach quantum degeneracy. It opens intriguing perspectives for novel quantum simulators employing dipole-dipole interactions in an optical lattice.

DOI
10.1051/epjconf/201510301007

Related papers

Ultracold lanthanides: from optical clock to a quantum simulator

Gulnara A. Vishnyakova, Artem A. Golovizin, Елена Сергеевна Калганова +5 more

We review the current research on precision spectroscopy and quantum optics applications of laser-cooled lanthanides. We discuss the specific electronic structure of hollow atoms, which determine prospects for application in optical frequency standards and in quantum simulators based on spin interactions in optical lattices. Using the example of the thulium atom, we describe the specifics of laser cooling, optical lattice trapping techniques, and clock transition spectroscopy using spectrally narrow lasers.

Physics-Uspekhi•Feb 14, 2016•22 citations

Blue cooling transitions of thulium atom

K. Chebakov, N. Kolachevsky, Alexey V. Akimov +4 more

Full text: It has been shown recently that Yb and Er atoms from the lanthanides group can be efficiently laser-cooled using strong transitions near 400 nm. Degenerate Fermi gases of ytterbium have been also recently demonstrated using laser-cooling based technic. Our goal was to investigate the possibility of laser cooling of Tm atom. Among other lanthanides, thulium possesses relatively simple level structure.Moreover, it has only one stable isotope {sup 169}Tm with a nuclear spin of I = 1/2 which makes possible to use schemes for sub-Doppler cooling. Laser-cooled thulium is a favorable candidate for optical clocks applications, since the forbidden transition between the fine structure sublevels (J{sub g} 5=2) - (J'{sub g} = 7/2) of the ground state 4f{sup 13}6s{sup 2} ({lambda} = 1.14 micron) has a spectral width of approximately 1 Hz. The collisional shift of such kind of transitions in lanthanides is suppressed because of the outer closed 6s{sup 2} shell, which allows for precision spectroscopy in a dense atomic cloud. We studied two candidates for cooling transitions from the ground state 4f{sup 13}6s{sup 2} (J{sub g} 7/2) to the states 4f{sup 12}({sup 3}H{sub 5})5d{sub 3/2}6s{sup 2} (J{sub e} = 9/2) at 410.6 nm and 4f{sup 12}({sup 3}F{sub 4})5d{sub 5/2}6s{sup 2} (J{sub e} = 9/2) at 420.4 nm. By means of saturation absorption spectroscopy, we measured the hyperfine structure and rates of these transitions. We evaluated the life times of appropriate excited levels as 15.9(8) ns and 48(6) ns, respectively. Decay rates from these levels to neighboring opposite-parity levels were evaluated by means of Hartree-Fock calculations. The fraction of atoms which do not return to the ground state is about 10{sup -5} and 5 {center_dot} 10{sup -4} for the 410.6 nm and 420.4 nm transitions respectively. We conclude that the strong transition at 410.6 nm with relative slow leakage rate can be used for the efficient cooling of Tm I. We also measured hyperfine structure of two nearby transitions from the ground state to the states 4f{sup 13}({sup 2}F{sub 7/2})6s6p({sup 1}P{sub 1}) (J{sub e} 5/2) at 409.4 nm and 4f{sup 12}({sup 3}F{sub 4})5d{sub 5/2}6s{sup 2} (J{sub e} = 7/2) at 418.9 nm, which can be used for {lambda}-type excitation of {lambda} = 1.14 {mu}m transition. (author)

•Jul 1, 2008•0 citations

Two-stage laser cooling and optical trapping of thulium atoms

Gulnara A. Vishnyakova, Елена Сергеевна Калганова, Денис Дмитриевич Сукачев +5 more

We propose to use the magnetic-dipole transition at coupling two ground state fine-structure components of thulium (Tm), as a 'clock transition' in optical clocks. We have demonstrated first stage laser cooling of Tm atoms down to a temperature of 25 K using a strong transition at and we have also shown preliminary results for second stage cooling using a weaker transition at (natural linewidth γ G = 350 kHz). Laser cooled atoms have been trapped in an optical dipole trap and in a 1D optical lattice operating near 532 nm.

Laser Physics•Jun 13, 2014•19 citations

New opportunites for interactions and control with ultracold lanthanides

Matthew A. Norcia, Francesca Ferlaino

Lanthanide atoms have an unusual electron configuration, with a partially filled shell of $f$ orbitals. This leads to a set of characteristic properties that enable enhanced control over ultracold atoms and their interactions: large numbers of optical transitions with widely varying wavelengths and transition strengths, anisotropic interaction properties between atoms and with light, and a large magnetic moment and spin space present in the ground state. These features in turn enable applications ranging from narrow-line laser cooling and spin manipulation to evaporative cooling through universal dipolar scattering, to the observation of a rotonic dispersion relation, self-bound liquid-like droplets stabilized by quantum fluctuations, and supersolid states. In this short review, we describe how the unusual level structure of lanthanide atoms leads to these key features, and provide a brief and necessarily partial overview of experimental progress in this rapidly developing field.

arXiv:2108.04491•Aug 10, 2021•3 citations

Thulium Fibre Lasers for Quantum Applications

Andrea Pertoldi, Poul Varming, Patrick Bowen Montague

Laser cooling is a necessary tool to generate ultracold atoms in magneto-optical traps (MOT), as atomic transitions can be excited with lasers to address different energy levels. As these transitions differ for each quantum system, flexibility in delivering the right wavelength and power at the atoms is key for viable quantum devices or experiments. In our work, we present custom laser systems at the edges of the thulium emission range for improving barium and strontium atoms trapping experiments [1]. Two of barium's narrow atomic transitions can be directly addressed with lasers at 1762 nm and 2052 nm, while third harmonic generation from 2067 nm and 2095 nm allows to address the red MOT cooling and the clock transitions in strontium at 689 nm and 698 nm.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC)•Jun 26, 2023•0 citations

Secondary laser cooling and capturing of thulium atoms in traps

Денис Дмитриевич Сукачев, Елена Сергеевна Калганова, А. В. Соколов +5 more

Secondary laser cooling has been realised on the weak dipole transition 4f13(2Fo)6s2, J = 7/2, F=4 → 4f12(3H6) 5d5/26s2, J' = 9/2, F' = 5 with the wavelength of 530.7 nm and natural width of 350 kHz. The temperature of the atomic cloud in a magnetooptical trap (MOT) was 30 μK at the lifetime of 2 s and the number of atoms 105. Approximately 1% of atoms from the MOT have been reloaded to an optical dipole trap and to one-dimensional optical lattice at the wavelength of 532 nm. The atom lifetime in the optical lattice was 320 ms. We propose to employ thulium atoms captured in an optical lattice as an optical frequency reference.

Quantum Electronics•Jun 30, 2014•23 citations
We discuss current progress in laser cooling of lanthanides (Er, Yb, Dy, Tm etc.) focusing on applications. We describe some important peculiarities taking Thulium atom as an example: Two stage laser cooling, trapping in an optical lattice, anisotropic interactions and spectroscopy of narrow transitions. Specific level structure and presence of magic wavelengths make ultracold Thulium a favorable candidate for optical clock applications. On the other hand, abundance of Feshbach resonances allow to tune interactions in ultracold gases and thus reach quantum degeneracy. It opens intriguing perspectives for novel quantum simulators employing dipole-dipole interactions in an optical lattice.
We review the current research on precision spectroscopy and quantum optics applications of laser-cooled lanthanides. We discuss the specific electronic structure of hollow atoms, which determine prospects for application in optical frequency standards and in quantum simulators based on spin interactions in optical lattices. Using the example of the thulium atom, we describe the specifics of laser cooling, optical lattice trapping techniques, and clock transition spectroscopy using spectrally narrow lasers.
Full text: It has been shown recently that Yb and Er atoms from the lanthanides group can be efficiently laser-cooled using strong transitions near 400 nm. Degenerate Fermi gases of ytterbium have been also recently demonstrated using laser-cooling based technic. Our goal was to investigate the possibility of laser cooling of Tm atom. Among other lanthanides, thulium possesses relatively simple level structure.Moreover, it has only one stable isotope {sup 169}Tm with a nuclear spin of I = 1/2 which makes possible to use schemes for sub-Doppler cooling. Laser-cooled thulium is a favorable candidate for optical clocks applications, since the forbidden transition between the fine structure sublevels (J{sub g} 5=2) - (J'{sub g} = 7/2) of the ground state 4f{sup 13}6s{sup 2} ({lambda} = 1.14 micron) has a spectral width of approximately 1 Hz. The collisional shift of such kind of transitions in lanthanides is suppressed because of the outer closed 6s{sup 2} shell, which allows for precision spectroscopy in a dense atomic cloud. We studied two candidates for cooling transitions from the ground state 4f{sup 13}6s{sup 2} (J{sub g} 7/2) to the states 4f{sup 12}({sup 3}H{sub 5})5d{sub 3/2}6s{sup 2} (J{sub e} = 9/2) at 410.6 nm and 4f{sup 12}({sup 3}F{sub 4})5d{sub 5/2}6s{sup 2} (J{sub e} = 9/2) at 420.4 nm. By means of saturation absorption spectroscopy, we measured the hyperfine structure and rates of these transitions. We evaluated the life times of appropriate excited levels as 15.9(8) ns and 48(6) ns, respectively. Decay rates from these levels to neighboring opposite-parity levels were evaluated by means of Hartree-Fock calculations. The fraction of atoms which do not return to the ground state is about 10{sup -5} and 5 {center_dot} 10{sup -4} for the 410.6 nm and 420.4 nm transitions respectively. We conclude that the strong transition at 410.6 nm with relative slow leakage rate can be used for the efficient cooling of Tm I. We also measured hyperfine structure of two nearby transitions from the ground state to the states 4f{sup 13}({sup 2}F{sub 7/2})6s6p({sup 1}P{sub 1}) (J{sub e} 5/2) at 409.4 nm and 4f{sup 12}({sup 3}F{sub 4})5d{sub 5/2}6s{sup 2} (J{sub e} = 7/2) at 418.9 nm, which can be used for {lambda}-type excitation of {lambda} = 1.14 {mu}m transition. (author)
We propose to use the magnetic-dipole transition at coupling two ground state fine-structure components of thulium (Tm), as a 'clock transition' in optical clocks. We have demonstrated first stage laser cooling of Tm atoms down to a temperature of 25 K using a strong transition at and we have also shown preliminary results for second stage cooling using a weaker transition at (natural linewidth γ G = 350 kHz). Laser cooled atoms have been trapped in an optical dipole trap and in a 1D optical lattice operating near 532 nm.
Lanthanide atoms have an unusual electron configuration, with a partially filled shell of fff orbitals. This leads to a set of characteristic properties that enable enhanced control over ultracold atoms and their interactions: large numbers of optical transitions with widely varying wavelengths and transition strengths, anisotropic interaction properties between atoms and with light, and a large magnetic moment and spin space present in the ground state. These features in turn enable applications ranging from narrow-line laser cooling and spin manipulation to evaporative cooling through universal dipolar scattering, to the observation of a rotonic dispersion relation, self-bound liquid-like droplets stabilized by quantum fluctuations, and supersolid states. In this short review, we describe how the unusual level structure of lanthanide atoms leads to these key features, and provide a brief and necessarily partial overview of experimental progress in this rapidly developing field.
Laser cooling is a necessary tool to generate ultracold atoms in magneto-optical traps (MOT), as atomic transitions can be excited with lasers to address different energy levels. As these transitions differ for each quantum system, flexibility in delivering the right wavelength and power at the atoms is key for viable quantum devices or experiments. In our work, we present custom laser systems at the edges of the thulium emission range for improving barium and strontium atoms trapping experiments [1]. Two of barium's narrow atomic transitions can be directly addressed with lasers at 1762 nm and 2052 nm, while third harmonic generation from 2067 nm and 2095 nm allows to address the red MOT cooling and the clock transitions in strontium at 689 nm and 698 nm.
Secondary laser cooling has been realised on the weak dipole transition 4f13(2Fo)6s2, J = 7/2, F=4 → 4f12(3H6) 5d5/26s2, J' = 9/2, F' = 5 with the wavelength of 530.7 nm and natural width of 350 kHz. The temperature of the atomic cloud in a magnetooptical trap (MOT) was 30 μK at the lifetime of 2 s and the number of atoms 105. Approximately 1% of atoms from the MOT have been reloaded to an optical dipole trap and to one-dimensional optical lattice at the wavelength of 532 nm. The atom lifetime in the optical lattice was 320 ms. We propose to employ thulium atoms captured in an optical lattice as an optical frequency reference.