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Non-adiabatic losses from radio frequency dressed cold atom traps

Kathryn Burrows

Published May 18, 2016• 1 citation
OpenAlex

Abstract

Cold atom traps are a promising tool for investigating and manipulating atomic behaviour. Radio frequency (RF) dressed cold atom traps allow high versatility of trapping potentials, which is important for potential applications, particularly in atom interferometry. This thesis investigates non-adiabatic spin flip transitions which can lead to losses of atoms from RF-dressed cold atom traps. We develop two models for the adiabatic potentials associated with RF-dressed traps, for the cases in which gravity does and doesn't have a significant effect. Within these two models we use first order perturbation theory to calculate decay rates for the number of dressed spin flip transitions per unit time. Our obtained decay rates are dependent on the atomic energy. For RF-dressed cold atom traps in which spin flip transitions lead to losses of atoms from the trap, we are able to predict ow non-adiabatic transitions decrease the trapped atom number. We achieve this by modelling the atomic distribution of energies for several different scenarios. The thesis concludes with a comparison to experimental data, including modelling how atomic energies are affected by noise in the currents generating the trapping magnetic fields.

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Nonadiabatic losses from radio-frequency-dressed cold-atom traps: Beyond the Landau-Zener model

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Nonadiabatic decay rates for a radio-frequency-dressed magnetic trap are calculated using Fermi's golden rule: that is, we examine the probability for a single atom to make transitions out of the dressed trap and into a continuum in the adiabatic limit, where perturbation theory can be applied. This approach can be compared to the semiclassical Landau-Zener theory of a resonant dressed atom trap, and it is found that, when carefully implemented, the Landau-Zener theory overestimates the rate of nonadiabatic spin-flip transitions in the adiabatic limit. This indicates that care is needed when determining requirements on trap Rabi frequency and magnetic-field gradient in practical atom traps.

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The dynamics of atom trapping in a radio-frequency-dressed-state potential formed by static and radio frequency (rf) fields has been studied using the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) technique. Using the simulations, a case of formation of a toroidal trap for cold $^{87}Rb$ atoms is investigated for atoms trapped in a static quadrupole magnetic trap and exposed to an rf-field with temporally increasing amplitude and decreasing frequency. We first calculate the adiabatic rf-dressed potential for an atom interacting with these fields and then apply DSMC algorithm to simulate the motion of the atom in this time dependent adiabatic potential. In the simulations the Landau-Zener (LZ) transition probability is calculated to know if the atom is in the trappable or untrappable dressed state. The results show that, initially at lower rf-field strength, the rf-field ejects atoms from the trap and leads to evaporative cooling of the atom cloud. However at higher rf-field strength, the atoms make LZ transition to the trappable dressed state which results in a toroidal shape to the atom cloud. The results of numerical simulations show a qualitative agreement with the experimental observations.

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Using a Direct Simulation Monte Carlo technique, we have studied the time evolution of a cold atom cloud interacting with a time dependent radio frequency (rf) dressed state potential. Exposure of a cloud of $^{87}Rb$ atoms, trapped in a quadrupole magnetic trap, to a time dependent rf-field with increasing amplitude and decreasing frequency, shows a variation in the number of trapped atoms and the overall shape of the atom cloud. It is shown by simulations that, initially at lower rf-field strength, the rf-field results in ejection of atoms from the trap, leading to evaporative cooling of the atom cloud. Later, at higher rf-field strength, the atoms undergo the non-adiabatic Landau-Zener (LZ) transitions, which leads to their trapping in an rf-dressed state potential of toroidal shape. The results of simulations explain the experimentally observed results. The simulations can be useful to predict the atom cloud dynamics and trapping geometries with other forms of the potential.

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A combination of static and oscillating magnetic fields can be used to 'dress' atoms with radiofrequency (RF), or microwave, radiation.The spatial variation of these fields can be used to create an enormous variety of traps for ultra-cold atoms and quantum gases.This article reviews the type and character of these adiabatic traps and the applications which include atom interferometry and the study of low-dimensional quantum systems.We introduce the main concepts of magnetic traps leading to adiabatic dressed traps.The concept of adiabaticity is discussed in the context of the Landau-Zener model.The first bubble trap experiment is reviewed together with the method used for loading it.Experiments based on atom chips show the production of double wells and ring traps.Dressed atom traps can be evaporatively cooled with an additional RF field, and a weak RF field can be used to probe the spectroscopy of the adiabatic potentials.Several approaches to ring traps formed from adiabatic potentials are discussed, including those based on atom chips, time-averaged adiabatic potentials and induction methods.Several proposals for adiabatic lattices with dressed atoms are also reviewed.

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Theory of ultracold atomic collisions in radio-frequency fields

Daniel J. Owens

This thesis has investigated the dynamics of ultracold atomic collisions in the presence of both static magnetic and oscillating radio-frequency (rf) fields. The bound state structure and scattering length of 39K+133Cs was examined in the presence of only a static magnetic field, where it was found that no Feshbach resonance of suitable width for magnetoassociation existed at a magnetic field where caesium can be cooled to degeneracy. We then showed that zero-energy Feshbach resonances may be engineered using an rf field in places where they did not previously exist. An rf field with frequency 79.9 MHz was chosen to induce a resonance near 21 G. The widths of such rf-induced Feshbach resonances increase quadratically with rf field strength. The resonances presented are lossless with circularly polarized rf, and the molecules created are long-lived even with plane-polarized RF. Collisional losses in rf-dressed magnetic traps were also investigated. An rf-induced loss mechanism that does not exist in the absence of rf radiation was identified. This mechanism is not suppressed by a centrifugal barrier in the outgoing channel, and can be much faster than spin relaxation, which is centrifugally suppressed. We explore the dependence of the rf-induced loss rate on singlet and triplet scattering lengths, hyperfine splittings and the strength of the rf field. The results were interpreted in terms of an adiabatic model of the collision dynamics, and calculate the corresponding nonadiabatic couplings. The loss rate can vary by 10 orders of magnitude as a function of singlet and triplet scattering lengths. 87Rb is a special case, where several factors combine to reduce rf-induced losses; as a result, they are slow compared to spin-relaxation losses. For most other alkali-metal pairs, rf-induced losses are expected to be much faster and may dominate. For heteronuclear mixtures an rf-modified spin-exchange mechanism was identified that results in loss rates orders of magnitude greater than the rf-induced loss rates in homonuclear cases. Fast loss is expected in mixtures where the Lande g-factors differ.

•Jan 1, 2019•0 citations
Cold atom traps are a promising tool for investigating and manipulating atomic behaviour. Radio frequency (RF) dressed cold atom traps allow high versatility of trapping potentials, which is important for potential applications, particularly in atom interferometry. This thesis investigates non-adiabatic spin flip transitions which can lead to losses of atoms from RF-dressed cold atom traps. We develop two models for the adiabatic potentials associated with RF-dressed traps, for the cases in which gravity does and doesn't have a significant effect. Within these two models we use first order perturbation theory to calculate decay rates for the number of dressed spin flip transitions per unit time. Our obtained decay rates are dependent on the atomic energy. For RF-dressed cold atom traps in which spin flip transitions lead to losses of atoms from the trap, we are able to predict ow non-adiabatic transitions decrease the trapped atom number. We achieve this by modelling the atomic distribution of energies for several different scenarios. The thesis concludes with a comparison to experimental data, including modelling how atomic energies are affected by noise in the currents generating the trapping magnetic fields.
Nonadiabatic decay rates for a radio-frequency-dressed magnetic trap are calculated using Fermi's golden rule: that is, we examine the probability for a single atom to make transitions out of the dressed trap and into a continuum in the adiabatic limit, where perturbation theory can be applied. This approach can be compared to the semiclassical Landau-Zener theory of a resonant dressed atom trap, and it is found that, when carefully implemented, the Landau-Zener theory overestimates the rate of nonadiabatic spin-flip transitions in the adiabatic limit. This indicates that care is needed when determining requirements on trap Rabi frequency and magnetic-field gradient in practical atom traps.
The dynamics of atom trapping in a radio-frequency-dressed-state potential formed by static and radio frequency (rf) fields has been studied using the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) technique. Using the simulations, a case of formation of a toroidal trap for cold 87Rb^{87}Rb87Rb atoms is investigated for atoms trapped in a static quadrupole magnetic trap and exposed to an rf-field with temporally increasing amplitude and decreasing frequency. We first calculate the adiabatic rf-dressed potential for an atom interacting with these fields and then apply DSMC algorithm to simulate the motion of the atom in this time dependent adiabatic potential. In the simulations the Landau-Zener (LZ) transition probability is calculated to know if the atom is in the trappable or untrappable dressed state. The results show that, initially at lower rf-field strength, the rf-field ejects atoms from the trap and leads to evaporative cooling of the atom cloud. However at higher rf-field strength, the atoms make LZ transition to the trappable dressed state which results in a toroidal shape to the atom cloud. The results of numerical simulations show a qualitative agreement with the experimental observations.
Using a Direct Simulation Monte Carlo technique, we have studied the time evolution of a cold atom cloud interacting with a time dependent radio frequency (rf) dressed state potential. Exposure of a cloud of 87Rb^{87}Rb87Rb atoms, trapped in a quadrupole magnetic trap, to a time dependent rf-field with increasing amplitude and decreasing frequency, shows a variation in the number of trapped atoms and the overall shape of the atom cloud. It is shown by simulations that, initially at lower rf-field strength, the rf-field results in ejection of atoms from the trap, leading to evaporative cooling of the atom cloud. Later, at higher rf-field strength, the atoms undergo the non-adiabatic Landau-Zener (LZ) transitions, which leads to their trapping in an rf-dressed state potential of toroidal shape. The results of simulations explain the experimentally observed results. The simulations can be useful to predict the atom cloud dynamics and trapping geometries with other forms of the potential.
A combination of static and oscillating magnetic fields can be used to 'dress' atoms with radiofrequency (RF), or microwave, radiation.The spatial variation of these fields can be used to create an enormous variety of traps for ultra-cold atoms and quantum gases.This article reviews the type and character of these adiabatic traps and the applications which include atom interferometry and the study of low-dimensional quantum systems.We introduce the main concepts of magnetic traps leading to adiabatic dressed traps.The concept of adiabaticity is discussed in the context of the Landau-Zener model.The first bubble trap experiment is reviewed together with the method used for loading it.Experiments based on atom chips show the production of double wells and ring traps.Dressed atom traps can be evaporatively cooled with an additional RF field, and a weak RF field can be used to probe the spectroscopy of the adiabatic potentials.Several approaches to ring traps formed from adiabatic potentials are discussed, including those based on atom chips, time-averaged adiabatic potentials and induction methods.Several proposals for adiabatic lattices with dressed atoms are also reviewed.
We calculate the rates of inelastic collisions for ultracold alkali-metal atoms in radio-frequency-dressed traps, using coupled-channel scattering calculations on accurate potential energy surfaces. We identify a radio-frequency-induced loss mechanism that does not exist in the absence of radio frequency (rf) radiation. This mechanism is not suppressed by a centrifugal barrier in the outgoing channel, and can be much faster than spin relaxation, which is centrifugally suppressed. We explore the dependence of the rf-induced loss rate on singlet and triplet scattering lengths, hyperfine splittings, and the strength of the rf field. We interpret the results in terms of an adiabatic model of the collision dynamics, and calculate the corresponding nonadiabatic couplings. The loss rate can vary by 10 orders of magnitude as a function of singlet and triplet scattering lengths. 87Rb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb is a special case, where several factors combine to reduce rf-induced losses; as a result, they are slow compared to spin-relaxation losses. For most other alkali-metal pairs, rf-induced losses are expected to be much faster and may dominate.
This thesis has investigated the dynamics of ultracold atomic collisions in the presence of both static magnetic and oscillating radio-frequency (rf) fields. The bound state structure and scattering length of 39K+133Cs was examined in the presence of only a static magnetic field, where it was found that no Feshbach resonance of suitable width for magnetoassociation existed at a magnetic field where caesium can be cooled to degeneracy. We then showed that zero-energy Feshbach resonances may be engineered using an rf field in places where they did not previously exist. An rf field with frequency 79.9 MHz was chosen to induce a resonance near 21 G. The widths of such rf-induced Feshbach resonances increase quadratically with rf field strength. The resonances presented are lossless with circularly polarized rf, and the molecules created are long-lived even with plane-polarized RF. Collisional losses in rf-dressed magnetic traps were also investigated. An rf-induced loss mechanism that does not exist in the absence of rf radiation was identified. This mechanism is not suppressed by a centrifugal barrier in the outgoing channel, and can be much faster than spin relaxation, which is centrifugally suppressed. We explore the dependence of the rf-induced loss rate on singlet and triplet scattering lengths, hyperfine splittings and the strength of the rf field. The results were interpreted in terms of an adiabatic model of the collision dynamics, and calculate the corresponding nonadiabatic couplings. The loss rate can vary by 10 orders of magnitude as a function of singlet and triplet scattering lengths. 87Rb is a special case, where several factors combine to reduce rf-induced losses; as a result, they are slow compared to spin-relaxation losses. For most other alkali-metal pairs, rf-induced losses are expected to be much faster and may dominate. For heteronuclear mixtures an rf-modified spin-exchange mechanism was identified that results in loss rates orders of magnitude greater than the rf-induced loss rates in homonuclear cases. Fast loss is expected in mixtures where the Lande g-factors differ.