A trapped single ion inside a Bose-Einstein condensate

Christoph Zipkes, Stefan Palzer, Carlo Sias +1 more

Christoph Zipkes, Stefan Palzer, Carlo Sias +1 more

A Bose–Einstein trap Until now, quantum atomic gases and single trapped ions have been treated separately in experiments. Now a team from the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge has combined the two, in the form of a hybrid quantum system composed of a Bose–Einstein condensate of neutral atoms and a trapped atomic ion. They achieve independent control over the two systems, study the fundamental interaction processes and observe sympathetic cooling of the single ion by the condensate. Possible avenues of research that this could lead to include the continuous cooling of quantum computers, and explorations of entanglement in hybrid quantum systems.

Ashley G. Smart

Matthieu Viteau, J Radogostowicz, Amodsen Chotia +7 more

Two-photon ionization of Rubidium atoms in a magneto-optical trap and a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is experimentally investigated. Using 100 ns laser pulses, we detect single ions photoionized from the condenstate with a 35(10)% efficiency. The measurements are performed using a quartz cell with external electrodes, allowing large optical access for BECs and optical lattices.

Chen Ning Yang

Stefan Schmid, Arne Härter, Johannes Hecker Denschlag

We investigate the interaction of a laser-cooled trapped ion (Ba+ or Rb+) with an optically confined ⁸⁷Rb Bose-Einstein condensate. The system features interesting dynamics of the ion and the atom cloud as determined by their collisions and their motion in their respective traps. Elastic as well as inelastic processes are observed and their respective cross sections are determined. We demonstrate that a single ion can be used to probe the density profile of an ultracold atom cloud.