The `atom laser' and the constructs of physicists--revisited

F. C. Michel, Anthony E.. Siegman, Daniel Kleppner

Kazuyuki Fujii, Kyoko Higashida, Ryosuke Kato +1 more

In this paper we consider a model of an atom with n energy levels interacting with n(n-1)/2 external (laser) fields which is a natural extension of two level system, and assume the rotating wave approximation (RWA) from the beginning. We revisit some construction of analytical solutions (which correspond to Rabi oscillations) of the model in the general case and examine it in detail in the case of three level system.

R. J. Ballagh, Craig M. Savage

Keith R. Burnett

Keith R. Burnett

A holy grail for physicists working in atom optics has long been an atom laser – a coherent beam in which all the atoms are in the same quantum state and are all travelling in the same direction with the same speed. Just as lasers have made optical techniques the preferred route for an extraordinary range of science and technology, an atom laser would give a powerful boost to atom optics and its applications, including atom interferometry and the laser-guided deposition of atoms. Although there is an active debate about what will constitute the observation of an atom laser, Wolfgang Ketterle and co-workers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US have demonstrated what some physicists agree is a pulsed atom laser.

C. Awe

Magneto optical traps brilliantly combine semi-classical optics with modern physics. By carefully controlling the polarization and frequency of laser beams, it is possible to trap and cool atoms down to the millikelvin range at a relatively low cost. This has opened previously inaccessible physical domains to enterprising physicists all around the world, and is responsible for some of the most interesting experiments being conducted in AMO sciences today. We attempted to employ magneto optical trapping techniques to generate a sample of Rubidium 87 atoms for use in the development of multidimensional Fourier transform spectroscopy with comb lasers. My work entailed the construction and characterization of two external cavity diode lasers (ECDLs), as well as the assembly of a MOT system, which is as of 04/07/2015 not operational. Future work will focus on debugging the system.