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The Rochester Conferences on Coherence and Quantum Optics and the Quantum Information and Measurement meeting

Optical Ferris Wheel for Ultracold Atoms

Sonja Franke‐Arnold, Jonathan Leach, Miles J. Padgett, V. E. Lembessis, Demosthenes Ellinas, Amanda J. Wright, John M. Girkin, Patrik Öhberg, Aidan S. Arnold

Published Jan 1, 2007• 9 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We experimentally demonstrate bright and dark rotatable optical ring lattices, with tunable barriers, using frequency-shifted Laguerre-Gauss superpositions. The lattice will be ideal for trapping condensates to study persistent currents and a ring Mott insulator.
DOI
10.1364/cqo.2007.cmi3

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We propose a versatile optical ring lattice suitable for trapping cold and quantum degenerate atomic samples. We demonstrate the realisation of intensity patterns from pairs of Laguerre-Gauss (exp(i??) modes with different ? indices. These patterns can be rotated by introducing a frequency shift between the modes. We can generate bright ring lattices for trapping atoms in red-detuned light, and dark ring lattices suitable for trapping atoms with minimal heating in the optical vortices of blue-detuned light. The lattice sites can be joined to form a uniform ring trap, making it ideal for studying persistent currents and the Mott insulator transition in a ring geometry.
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We propose an optical lattice for cold atoms made of a one-dimensional stack of dark ring traps. It is obtained through the interference pattern of a standard Gaussian beam with a counterpropagating hollow beam obtained using a setup with two conical lenses. The traps of the resulting lattice are characterized by a high confinement and a filling rate much larger than unity, even if loaded with cold atoms from a magneto-optical trap. We have implemented this system experimentally, and demonstrated its feasibility. Applications in statistical physics, quantum computing, and Bose-Einstein condensate dynamics are conceivable.
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