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Nature

A step closer to atom lasers that stay on

Published Jun 8, 2022• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Continuous amplification of coherent matter waves has been demonstrated, allowing an exotic state of matter called a Bose–Einstein condensate to be maintained indefinitely. This set-up is the matter-wave analogue of an optical laser enclosed by fully reflective mirrors, and it could have uses in both applied and fundamental physics. How to maintain a Bose–Einstein condensate indefinitely.

DOI
10.1038/d41586-022-01497-2

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Continuous amplification of coherent matter waves has been demonstrated, allowing an exotic state of matter called a Bose–Einstein condensate to be maintained indefinitely. This set-up is the matter-wave analogue of an optical laser enclosed by fully reflective mirrors, and it could have uses in both applied and fundamental physics. How to maintain a Bose–Einstein condensate indefinitely.
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Our ability to manipulate the coherence properties of light has been at the heart of many of the most important scientific and technological innovations of this century. There can hardly be a home in this country that does not possess a laser in the form of a compact disc player or a CDROM. When we talk on the phone, or send messages on the Internet, there is a high probability that our message will be encoded by a laser into pulses of light to be passed through optical fibres. In the last few years physicists have been discovering that it is possible to control the coherence properties of atoms, and are now developing tools analogous to those which have been developed to take advantage of the coherence properties of light. In the next decade we can look forward to seeing the application of lasers, fibres, mirrors and waveguides for atoms. Already we have been able to construct interferometry experiments using beams of atoms and these have proved to be extremely sensitive measurement devices, allowing us to test physical theories and measure fundamental constants to a level of precision not previously possible. Will these developing technologies ever be as ubiquitous as their optical forebears? In this paper we discuss the anticipated uses of this technology for both fundamental science and industrial applications. Starting from an explanation of the meaning of coherence and a comparison of the properties of photons and atoms, we describe the development of the science of atom optics. The tortuous route towards the great achievement of producing a Bose–Einstein condensate is described, and we explain why this is the most important step towards a laser–like source of atoms. Numerous other optical elements for atoms have been built or are on the drawing board, and we describe how these may be used to manipulate atoms with a precision that has never before been achieved, and look ahead to what we can learn about physics using these tools and at how they can be put to practical use.
The coherent manipulation of Bose-Einstein Condensates by far blue detuned dipole potentials is discussed. “Classical” atom optical elements, like mirrors and waveguides, are realised and the dynamics of coherent matter waves interacting with these elements is investigated. The local manipulation of the phase of the condensate wavefunction by temporally applied dipole potentials represents a powerful tool for the design of matter waves. We use this method in particular for the creation of dark solitons in Bose-Einstein condensates and study their dynamics.
The word laser has taken on a new meaning: a beam of atoms marching in quantum lockstep, like the photons of a light laser. Two years ago, physicists achieved the crucial starting point for an atom laser, which could aid everything from atomic clocks to chipmaking, when they created an exotic brew of atoms all merged in a single quantum state. Now, a group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology reports in this issue ( p. 637 ) that they have shaped this “Bose-Einstein condensate” into pulses, each one a single, coherent “matter wave.”