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Physical Review A

Long-range atom-surface bound states

E. G. Lima, Martine Chevrollier, Orlando Di Lorenzo, P. Chaves de Souza Segundo, Marcos Oriá

Published Jun 14, 2000• 27 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We study the photoassociative process between cold atoms and a surface. A mechanism to confine free cold atoms in a planar waveguide, characterized by the long-range atom-surface van der Waals potential and based on radiative transitions, is presented. We propose that the vibrational states of this potential can be probed by reflection spectroscopy, giving information about the ${C}_{3}$ van der Waals coefficients.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.62.013410

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High resolution selective reflection spectroscopy as a probe of long-range surface interaction : measurement of the surface van der Waals attraction exerted on excited Cs atoms

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Selective reflection spectroscopy at an interface with a low-density resonant vapor, especially when combined with a frequency modulation technique, is a high-resolution Doppler-free tool for probing atoms interacting with a surface. We analyze different types of relevant surface interaction, emphasizing the spectral consequences of a van der Waals surface attraction associated to a $z^{-3}$ potential dependence ($z$: distance to the wall). We present detailed results of two series of experiments at a Cs vapor/dielectric window interface on the 6S$_{1/2}$-6P$_{3/2}$ ($\lambda = 852$ nm) resonance line and on the 6S$_{1/2}$-7P second resonance line ($\lambda = 455$ nm and 459 nm). Lineshape analysis at various pressures consistently shows that a van der Waals-type surface attraction has to be considered to interpret strong lineshape distortions and resonance shift. The attractive strengths are found to be equal respectively to $\approx 2$ kHz $\mu$m$^3$ and $\approx 20$ kHz $\mu$m$^3$, independently of the considered hyperfine component, within the experimental accuracy. It yields also typical parameters of pressure broadening and shift, which are shown to originate in collisional processes, at densities where the medium is opaque. Theoretical expectations for the VW strength are discussed on the basis of the results of atomic theory. The predicted values are smaller, by a typical factor of 2, than those deduced from the experiments. The validity of the theory, when applied to a dielectric interface, is discussed and seems questionable when the frequency of virtual atomic transitions involved in the van der Waals attraction potential lies in the dielectric window absorption range.

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Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE•Oct 28, 1992•0 citations
We study the photoassociative process between cold atoms and a surface. A mechanism to confine free cold atoms in a planar waveguide, characterized by the long-range atom-surface van der Waals potential and based on radiative transitions, is presented. We propose that the vibrational states of this potential can be probed by reflection spectroscopy, giving information about the C3{C}_{3}C3​ van der Waals coefficients.
Selective reflection spectroscopy at an interface with a low-density resonant vapor, especially when combined with a frequency modulation technique, is a high-resolution Doppler-free tool for probing atoms interacting with a surface. We analyze different types of relevant surface interaction, emphasizing the spectral consequences of a van der Waals surface attraction associated to a z−3z^{-3}z−3 potential dependence (zzz: distance to the wall). We present detailed results of two series of experiments at a Cs vapor/dielectric window interface on the 6S1/2_{1/2}1/2​-6P3/2_{3/2}3/2​ (λ=852\lambda = 852λ=852 nm) resonance line and on the 6S1/2_{1/2}1/2​-7P second resonance line (λ=455\lambda = 455λ=455 nm and 459 nm). Lineshape analysis at various pressures consistently shows that a van der Waals-type surface attraction has to be considered to interpret strong lineshape distortions and resonance shift. The attractive strengths are found to be equal respectively to ≈2\approx 2≈2 kHz μ\muμm3^33 and ≈20\approx 20≈20 kHz μ\muμm3^33, independently of the considered hyperfine component, within the experimental accuracy. It yields also typical parameters of pressure broadening and shift, which are shown to originate in collisional processes, at densities where the medium is opaque. Theoretical expectations for the VW strength are discussed on the basis of the results of atomic theory. The predicted values are smaller, by a typical factor of 2, than those deduced from the experiments. The validity of the theory, when applied to a dielectric interface, is discussed and seems questionable when the frequency of virtual atomic transitions involved in the van der Waals attraction potential lies in the dielectric window absorption range.
Summary form only given. In atom optics, techniques were proposed to confine atoms in 2D waveguides utilizing light potentials or static magnetic fields on surfaces. For atoms close to the surface at distances shorter than the optical wavelength, the atoms-surface van der Waals interaction is inevitable and represents a complicating factor for these experiments. Here we propose to confine neutral atoms directly in a particular state of a surface potential well thanks to a laser induced Raman transfer connecting optical transitions of free cold atoms to the surface bound states. We numerically solve the 1D Schrodinger equation for cesium atom parameters. To populate the atom-surface long range states we consider cold Cs atoms near a dielectric surface interacting simultaneously with two resonant lasers.
van der Waals interactions, as a result of the exchange of photons between particles, can be altered by modifying the environment through which these photons propagate. As a consequence, phenomena such as the Rydberg blockade mechanism between highly excited atoms or excitons can be controlled by adding reflecting surfaces. We provide the quantum electrodynamic framework for the van der Waals interaction in the nonretarded limit that is relevant for long-wavelength transitions, such as those between Rydberg systems, and show its intimate connection with common static dipole-dipole interactions, thereby providing a generalization to include macroscopic bodies.
Abstract Rydberg molecules are an essential ingredient of cold molecular sciences. Due to the richness of interactions between Rydberg atoms and neutral atoms, new kinds of Rydberg molecules and binding mechanisms are still to be discovered. In this work, we predict the existence of long-range van der Waals trimers in dilute atom-gas mixtures. These are bound states of a Rydberg atom and a diatomic polar molecule mediated by the long-range van der Waals interaction. This binding mechanism gives rise to trimers with sizes between 5 and 500 nm and binding energies between 0.2 kHz and 2 MHz depending on the atomic principal quantum number n and orbital angular momentum L. We show that these trimers can be produced via two-photon photoassociation, with rates on the order of (10−13 - 10−11) cm3s−1 for temperatures in the range of (0.5 μ K - 10 μ K), and discuss the feasibility of observing trimer resonances.
The atomic response to resonant light irradiation near vapor-dielectric interfaces is monitored via high-resolution reflection spectroscopy. One demonstrates that this Doppler-free spectroscopic technique yields a novel probe of atomic dynamics and QED atom-surface long- range interaction. It provides for the first time a spectral evidence of van der Waals attraction, and the method is intrinsically applicable to the observation of surface interaction exerted on excited atoms. Effects related with atomic excitation level, nature of the dielectrics, and atomic collisions are discussed.