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Annual Meeting Optical Society of America

Dynamics and spatial order of cold cesium atoms in a periodic optical potential

G. Grynberg, Philippe Verkerk, J.-Y. Courtois, Brahim Lounis, Ch Salomon, Claude N. Cohen-Tannoudji

Published Jan 1, 1992• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The spatial distribution of cesium atoms in a 1D optical molasses are probed by measuring the absorption (or amplification) of a weak laser beam. Very narrow stimulated Raman and Rayleigh resonances are observed. The position of the Raman resonance gives access to the oscillation frequency of the atoms in the wavelength-scale optical potential. From the width of the Raman lines (~35 kHz), we deduce the damping time of this oscillation, which exhibits a dramatic lengthening due to the spatial confinement of atoms to a fraction of optical wavelength (Lamb–Dicke effect). Furthermore, the narrow stimulated Rayleigh signals (8 kHz) give experimental evidence for a large scale spatial order of the atomic gas presenting some analogy with an antiferromagnetic medium.

DOI
10.1364/oam.1992.thuu3

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The spatial distribution of cesium atoms in a 1D optical molasses are probed by measuring the absorption (or amplification) of a weak laser beam. Very narrow stimulated Raman and Rayleigh resonances are observed. The position of the Raman resonance gives access to the oscillation frequency of the atoms in the wavelength-scale optical potential. From the width of the Raman lines (~35 kHz), we deduce the damping time of this oscillation, which exhibits a dramatic lengthening due to the spatial confinement of atoms to a fraction of optical wavelength (Lamb–Dicke effect). Furthermore, the narrow stimulated Rayleigh signals (8 kHz) give experimental evidence for a large scale spatial order of the atomic gas presenting some analogy with an antiferromagnetic medium.
The spatial distribution and the dynamics of Cs atoms in a 1D optical molasses are probed by measuring the absorption (or amplification) spectrum of a weak laser beam. Narrow (35--50 kHz) Raman lines give access for the first time to the frequency and to the damping of the atom's oscillation in the potential wells associated with light shifts. A narrower (8 kHz) Rayleigh resonance demonstrates the existence of a large-scale spatial order of the atoms, presenting some analogy with an antiferromagnetic medium.
Quantization of atomic motion is observed in two- and three-dimensional cesium optical molasses by stimulated Raman spectroscopy. A new geometry is used with the minimum number of laser beams, so that the topography of the optical potential is not sensitive to phase drifts of the molasses beams. The deepest potential wells are located on a hexagonal lattice in two dimensions and on a body-centered-cubic lattice in three dimensions. They correspond to purely circularly polarized light, allowing a Lamb-Dicke narrowing of the transitions between vibrational levels to occur.
We present a detailed theoretical investigation of the transmission spectrum of a probe beam interacting with atoms in a one-dimensional optical molasses obtained with linearly cross-polarized counterpropagating pump beams. The study is performed for a Jg{\mathit{J}}_{\mathit{g}}Jg​=1/2\ensuremath{\rightarrow}Je{\mathit{J}}_{\mathit{e}}Je​=3/2 atomic transition in the limit where the Hamiltonian part of the atom-field coupling is predominant over the relaxation part. We analyze the stimulated Raman transitions occurring between different vibrational levels of the atoms in the periodic potential created by the light shifts, and we show a dramatic lengthening of the damping time of coherences between such levels due to the Lamb-Dicke effect. Very narrow Rayleigh resonances with a shape sensitive to the probe polarization appear for a probe frequency close to the pump frequency. We interpret these resonances in terms of scattering of the pump waves on density and magnetization gratings, and show that they provide important information about the dynamics and localization of atoms at the bottom of the potential wells. Such information should also be accessed by phase-conjugation experiments. Finally, indications on the treatment of other atomic transitions are given.
We report on the first expeimental observation of recoil-induced resonances. These resonances, which can be considered as the atomic analog of the grain mechanism of the free-electron laser, are observed on the transmission spectrum of a probe beam making a small angle with a one-dimensional lin\ensuremath{\perp}lin cesium optical molasses. They are interpreted either as stimulated Raman transitions between differently populated velocity groups (the internal atomic state being unchanged), or as stimulated Rayleigh resonances originating from a bunching of the atomic density. Their shape provides information about the transverse velocity distribution of the atoms.
We have observed quantized motion of rubidium atoms spatially confined by dipole forces inside microscopic light traps. A cubic lattice of such traps is formed by three mutually orthogonal standing waves. We compare 2D and 3D confinement in the same experiment by observing the absorption of a weak probe laser beam. In both cases we observe Raman transitions between vibrational levels and a central Rayleigh resonance. When we switch to 3D confinement the line width of this Rayleigh resonance dramatically decreases to values below 1 kHz.