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Physics

Atoms Oscillate Collectively in Large Optical Lattice

Helmut Ritsch

Published Feb 14, 2018• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We observe effects of collective atomic motion in a one-dimensional optical lattice coupled to an optomechanical system.In this hybrid atom-optomechanical system, the lattice light generates a coupling between the lattice atoms as well as between atoms and a micromechanical membrane oscillator.For large atom numbers we observe an instability in the coupled system, resulting in large-amplitude atommembrane oscillations.We show that this behavior can be explained by light-mediated collective atomic motion in the lattice, which arises for large atom numbers, small atom-light detunings, and asymmetric pumping of the lattice, in agreement with previous theoretical work.The model connects the optomechanical instability to a phase delay in the global atomic backaction onto the lattice light, which we observe in a direct measurement.

DOI
10.1103/physics.11.17

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We observe effects of collective atomic motion in a one-dimensional optical lattice coupled to an optomechanical system.In this hybrid atom-optomechanical system, the lattice light generates a coupling between the lattice atoms as well as between atoms and a micromechanical membrane oscillator.For large atom numbers we observe an instability in the coupled system, resulting in large-amplitude atommembrane oscillations.We show that this behavior can be explained by light-mediated collective atomic motion in the lattice, which arises for large atom numbers, small atom-light detunings, and asymmetric pumping of the lattice, in agreement with previous theoretical work.The model connects the optomechanical instability to a phase delay in the global atomic backaction onto the lattice light, which we observe in a direct measurement.
We observe effects of collective atomic motion in a one-dimensional optical lattice coupled to an optomechanical system. In this hybrid atom-optomechanical system, the lattice light generates a coupling between the lattice atoms as well as between atoms and a micromechanical membrane oscillator. For large atom numbers we observe an instability in the coupled system, resulting in large-amplitude atom-membrane oscillations. We show that this behavior can be explained by light-mediated collective atomic motion in the lattice, which arises for large atom numbers, small atom-light detunings, and asymmetric pumping of the lattice, in agreement with previous theoretical work. The model connects the optomechanical instability to a phase delay in the global atomic backaction onto the lattice light, which we observe in a direct measurement.
We observe effects of collective atomic motion in a one-dimensional optical lattice coupled to an optomechanical system. In this hybrid atom-optomechanical system, the lattice light generates a coupling between the lattice atoms as well as between atoms and a micromechanical membrane oscillator. For large atom numbers we observe an instability in the coupled system, resulting in large-amplitude atom-membrane oscillations. We show that this behavior can be explained by light-mediated collective atomic motion in the lattice, which arises for large atom number, small atom-light detuning and asymmetric pumping of the lattice, in agreement with previous theoretical work. The model connects the optomechanical instability to a phase delay in the global atomic back-action onto the lattice light, which we observe in a direct measurement.
We have realized a hybrid optomechanical system by coupling ultracold atoms to a micromechanical membrane. The atoms are trapped in an optical lattice, which is formed by retroreflection of a laser beam from the membrane surface. In this setup, the lattice laser light mediates an optomechanical coupling between membrane vibrations and atomic center-of-mass motion. We observe both the effect of the membrane vibrations onto the atoms as well as the backaction of the atomic motion onto the membrane. By coupling the membrane to laser-cooled atoms, we engineer the dissipation rate of the membrane. Our observations agree quantitatively with a simple model.
We report on the realization of a hybrid optomechanical system in which ultracold atoms are coupled to a micromechanical membrane. The atoms are trapped in the intensity maxima of an optical standing wave formed by retroreflection of a laser beam from the membrane surface. Vibrations of the membrane displace the standing wave, thus coupling to the center-of-mass motion of the atomic ensemble. Conversely, atoms imprint their motion onto the laser light, thereby modulating the radiation pressure force on the membrane. In this way, the laser light mediates a long-distance coherent coupling between the two systems. When the trap frequency of the atoms is matched to the membrane frequency, we observe resonant energy transfer. Moreover, we demonstrate sympathetic damping of the membrane motion by coupling it to laser-cooled atoms. Theoretical investigations show that the coupling strength can be considerably enhanced by placing the membrane inside an optical cavity. This could lead to quantum coherent coupling and ground-state cooling of the membrane via a distant atomic ensemble.
In this thesis, I report on the realization of a hybrid optomechanical system in which ultracold atoms are coupled to a micromechanical membrane. The atoms are trapped in the intensity maxima of an optical standing wave formed by retroreflection of a laser beam from the membrane surface. Vibrations of the membrane displace the standing wave, thus coupling to the center-of-mass motion of the atomic ensemble. Conversely, atoms imprint their motion onto the laser light, thereby modulating the radiation pressure force on the membrane. In this way, the laser light mediates a long-distance, coherent coupling between the two systems. \n \nWhen the trap frequency of the atoms is matched to the membrane frequency, we observe resonant energy transfer. In addition, by applying simultaneous laser cooling to the atoms, we can dissipate energy from the coupled system leading to sympathetic cooling of the membrane mode. The experimental data follows the theoretical estimations that predict the coupling to scale with the number of trapped atoms. Furthermore, by including the finite temperature of the atoms and their spatially inhomogeneous trapping potential in the theoretical model of the optomechanical coupling, we can accurately describe the width and shape of the resonance. \n \nIn an improved experimental setup, the membrane is enclosed in a cavity while the atoms are trapped in the standing wave lattice outside the cavity. The presence of the cavity results in a considerable enhancement of the coupling strength in proportion to the cavity finesse. So far we have observed sympathetic cooling of the membrane mode by a factor of 32 starting from room temperature. Theoretical estimates show that in such a setup ground-state cooling of the membrane mode should be possible, allowing one to access the quantum coherent coupling regime.
In a recent paper [J. K. Asboth et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 203008 (2007)] we have shown that traveling density wavelike collective oscillations can arise in an asymmetrically pumped optical lattice, and by increasing the lattice size or pump asymmetry, these waves can destabilize the structure even in the overdamped limit. The long-range interaction giving rise to collective motion stems from the back-action of the atoms on the field creating the lattice. In this paper we present a detailed description of these phenomena. We derive the force on a disk-shaped cloud of trapped particles including the back-action on the trapping light, and analyze its relation to the standard perturbative approach giving the ``dipole force'' and ``radiation pressure.'' We calculate the self-consistent lattice constant for both red and blue detuned lattices and find that it decreases---by the same amount in the two cases---as the pump asymmetry is increased. We present the detailed derivation of the lattice vibration eigenmodes using the transfer matrix method, which reveals that the instability is enhanced resonantly at certain settings of the asymmetry.