We have confined up to 10{sup 4} {sup 85}Rb atoms in an optical dipole force trap operating up to 65 nm from atomic resonance. For detunings greater than 16 nm, we obtained long confinement times, limited only by background gas collisions, without additional cooling. However, for trapping laser tunings between 4 nm and 16 nm to the red of the lowest Rb (D1) resonance, we observed a novel trap loss mechanism which results in much shorter-trap lifetimes. The trap loss rate is very sensitive to the laser wavelength, and exhibits a complex spectrum. This trap loss may arise from a photo-associative collisional process in which an initially free pair of colliding ground state atoms is promoted to a bound molecular excited state. The bound excited molecule could then be lost from the trap by photoionization, or by spontaneous decay to an untrapped ground state. The results of our preliminary experiments and of further experiments to clarify this novel trap loss process will be presented.We have confined up to 10{sup 4} {sup 85}Rb atoms in an optical dipole force trap operating up to 65 nm from atomic resonance. For detunings greater than 16 nm, we obtained long confinement times, limited only by background gas collisions, without additional cooling. However, for trapping laser tunings between 4 nm and 16 nm to the red of the lowest Rb (D1) resonance, we observed a novel trap loss mechanism which results in much shorter-trap lifetimes. The trap loss rate is very sensitive to the laser wavelength, and exhibits a complex spectrum. This trap loss may arise from a photo-associative collisional process in which an initially free pair of colliding ground state atoms is promoted to a bound molecular excited state. The bound excited molecule could then be lost from the trap by photoionization, or by spontaneous decay to an untrapped ground state. The results of our preliminary experiments and of further experiments to clarify this novel trap loss process will be presented.

Bulletin of the American Physical SocietyMay 1, 19930 citations

Trapping of Single Atoms in an Off-Resonance Optical Dipole Trap

WORLD SCIENTIFIC eBooksDec 1, 20060 citations

The Optical Dipolar Force Trap of Laser Cooling Atoms

翔平藤田

Jul 1, 20140 citations

Far-off-resonance optical trapping of atoms

Joseph D. Miller, Robert A. Cline, Daniel J. Heinzen

We confine $^{85}\mathrm{Rb}$ atoms in an optical dipole force trap with a very large detuning from resonance of up to 65 nm. Confinement times of 200 ms, limited only by background-gas collisions, are obtained without additional cooling. A typical trap contains 1300 atoms at a temperature of 0.4 mK and a peak density of 8\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{} ${10}^{11}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}3}$. We measure spontaneous photon scatter rates of the trapped atoms to be less than 1.6\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{} ${10}^{3}$ ${\mathrm{s}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$, corresponding to recoil heating rates below 0.6 mK/s. The far-detuned trap confines atoms with a strong, nearly conservative optical force and negligible atomic excitation.We confine $^{85}\mathrm{Rb}$ atoms in an optical dipole force trap with a very large detuning from resonance of up to 65 nm. Confinement times of 200 ms, limited only by background-gas collisions, are obtained without additional cooling. A typical trap contains 1300 atoms at a temperature of 0.4 mK and a peak density of 8\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{11}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}3}$. We measure spontaneous photon scatter rates of the trapped atoms to be less than 1.6\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{3}$ ${\mathrm{s}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$, corresponding to recoil heating rates below 0.6 mK/s. The far-detuned trap confines atoms with a strong, nearly conservative optical force and negligible atomic excitation.

Physical Review AJun 1, 1993312 citations

Optical dipole traps for cold atoms using diffracted laser light (6 pages)

Glen Gillen

Physical Review AJan 1, 20060 citations

All-optical runaway evaporation to Bose-Einstein condensation

Jean‐François Clément, Jean-Philippe Brantut, Martin Robert-De-Saint-Vincent +4 more

We demonstrate runaway evaporative cooling directly with a tightly confining optical-dipole trap and achieve fast production of condensates of $1.5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{5}$ $^{87}\text{R}\text{b}$ atoms. Our scheme uses a misaligned crossed-beam far off-resonance optical-dipole trap (MACRO-FORT). It is characterized by independent control of the trap confinement and depth allowing forced all-optical evaporation in the runaway regime. Although our configuration is particularly well suited to the case of $^{87}\text{R}\text{b}$ atoms in a 1565 nm optical trap, where an efficient initial loading is possible, our scheme is general and will allow all-optical evaporative cooling at constant stiffness for every optically trappable atomic or even molecular species.We demonstrate runaway evaporative cooling directly with a tightly confining optical-dipole trap and achieve fast production of condensates of $1.5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{5}$ $^{87}\text{R}\text{b}$ atoms. Our scheme uses a misaligned crossed-beam far off-resonance optical-dipole trap (MACRO-FORT). It is characterized by independent control of the trap confinement and depth allowing forced all-optical evaporation in the runaway regime. Although our configuration is particularly well suited to the case of $^{87}\text{R}\text{b}$ atoms in a 1565 nm optical trap, where an efficient initial loading is possible, our scheme is general and will allow all-optical evaporative cooling at constant stiffness for every optically trappable atomic or even molecular species.

arXiv:0903.2745Physical Review AJun 19, 2009109 citations

We confine

^{85}\mathrm{Rb}

atoms in an optical dipole force trap with a very large detuning from resonance of up to 65 nm. Confinement times of 200 ms, limited only by background-gas collisions, are obtained without additional cooling. A typical trap contains 1300 atoms at a temperature of 0.4 mK and a peak density of 8\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}

{10}^{11}

${\mathrm{cm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}3}$. We measure spontaneous photon scatter rates of the trapped atoms to be less than 1.6\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}

{10}^{3}

${\mathrm{s}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$, corresponding to recoil heating rates below 0.6 mK/s. The far-detuned trap confines atoms with a strong, nearly conservative optical force and negligible atomic excitation.

We demonstrate runaway evaporative cooling directly with a tightly confining optical-dipole trap and achieve fast production of condensates of $1.5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{5}$

^{87}\text{R}\text{b}

atoms. Our scheme uses a misaligned crossed-beam far off-resonance optical-dipole trap (MACRO-FORT). It is characterized by independent control of the trap confinement and depth allowing forced all-optical evaporation in the runaway regime. Although our configuration is particularly well suited to the case of

^{87}\text{R}\text{b}

atoms in a 1565 nm optical trap, where an efficient initial loading is possible, our scheme is general and will allow all-optical evaporative cooling at constant stiffness for every optically trappable atomic or even molecular species.