Experiments with Cold Atoms

Anders Kastberg

Gabriel G. Carlo, Giuliano Benenti, Giulio Casati +4 more

We present a very simple model for realizing directed transport with cold atoms in a pair of periodically flashed optical lattices. The origin of this ratchet effect is explained and its robustness demonstrated under imperfections typical of cold atom experiments. We conclude that our model offers a clear-cut way to implement directed transport in an atom optical experiment.

L. Holler, Gerald Auböck, C. Binder +3 more

In the performed experiment we trap simultaneously in the Magneto-Optical Trap cold atoms of 7Li with cold sodium atoms and cold 6Li atoms with cold 23Na atoms. We investigated in detail heteronuclear interactions between cold isotopes of lithium atoms and cold sodium atoms in presence of the laser light.

Gerhard Backenstoss

Sebastian Krinner, Tilman Esslinger, Jean-Philippe Brantut

In recent years, the ability of cold atom experiments to explore condensed-matter-related questions has dramatically progressed. Transport experiments, in particular, have expanded to the point in which conductance and other transport coefficients can now be measured in a way that is directly analogous to solid-state physics, extending cold-atom-based quantum simulations into the domain of quantum electronic devices. In this topical review, we describe the transport experiments performed with cold gases in the two-terminal configuration, with an emphasis on the specific features of cold atomic gases compared to solid-state physics. We present the experimental techniques and the main experimental findings, focusing on-but not restricted to-the recent experiments performed by our group. We finally discuss the perspectives opened up by this approach, the main technical and conceptual challenges for future developments, and potential applications in quantum simulation for transport phenomena and mesoscopic physics problems.

David E. Pritchard