Magnetic focusing of cold atomic beam with a 2D array of current-carrying wires

D.C. Lau, A. I. Sidorov, G. I. Opat +3 more

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Yang Liu, Min Yun, Jianping Yin

A new scheme to realize a two-dimensional (2D) array of magnetic micro-lenses for a cold atomic beam, formed by an array of square current-carrying wires, is proposed. We calculate the spatial distributions of the magnetic fields from the array of current-carrying wires and the magnetic focusing potential for cold rubidium atoms, and study the dynamic focusing processes of cold atoms passing through the magnetic micro-lens array and its focusing properties by using Monte-Carlo simulations and trajectory tracing method. The result shows that the proposed micro-lens array can be used to focus effectively a cold atomic beam, even to load ultracold atoms or a BEC sample into a 2D optical lattice formed by blue detuned hollow beams.

Spencer E. Olson, Rahul R. Mhaskar, Georg A. Raithel

P. Cren, C.F. Roos, A. Aclan +2 more

Jianping Yin, Weijian Gao, Nanchun Liu +2 more

Abstract We propose two novel schemes for guiding cold, neutral atoms using static magnetic fields generated by several cylindrical arrays of current‐carrying wires or a few different‐shaped (V‐, or U‐shaped, etc.) current‐carrying conductors, and calculate the corresponding magnetic‐field contours and their trapping potentials. Our study shows that some guiding schemes can be used to form an atomic funnel, or an atomic beam‐splitter, or even construct an atomic interferometer, and some guiding schemes can be used to realize a single‐mode wave guide of ultracold atoms (or coherent matter waves, BEC) under certain conditions. We also propose a few new schemes to microscopically trap neutral atoms by using various planar arrays of current‐carrying wires and calculate the spatial distribution of the magnetic fields. Our research shows that these microtrap arrays can be used to form 1D, 2D or 3D atomic magnetic lattices, and then to prepare 1D, 2D or 3D photonic crystals, even to realize a 1D, 2D or 3D array of magnetically‐trapped BECs or Bose Clusters.