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arXiv:cond-mat/0108496 · Physical Review Letters

Transport of Bose-Einstein Condensates with Optical Tweezers

T. L. Gustavson, A. P. Chikkatur, A. E. Leanhardt, Axel Görlitz, Subhadeep Gupta, David E. Pritchard, Wolfgang Ketterle

Published Dec 21, 2001• 237 citations
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Abstract

We have transported gaseous Bose-Einstein condensates over distances up to 44 cm. This was accomplished by trapping the condensate in the focus of an infrared laser and translating the location of the laser focus with controlled acceleration. Condensates of order 10(6) atoms were moved into an auxiliary chamber and loaded into a magnetic trap formed by a Z-shaped wire. This transport technique avoids the optical and mechanical access constraints of conventional condensate experiments and creates many new scientific opportunities.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.88.020401

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•Jan 1, 2010•1 citation
We have transported gaseous Bose-Einstein condensates over distances up to 44 cm. This was accomplished by trapping the condensate in the focus of an infrared laser and translating the location of the laser focus with controlled acceleration. Condensates of order 10(6) atoms were moved into an auxiliary chamber and loaded into a magnetic trap formed by a Z-shaped wire. This transport technique avoids the optical and mechanical access constraints of conventional condensate experiments and creates many new scientific opportunities.
Summary form only given. Conventional condensate production techniques severely limit optical and mechanical access for experiments due to the many laser beams and magnetic coils needed to create BECs. We demonstrate here an application of optical tweezers that transfers Bose condensates over distances of at least 44 cm (limited by the vacuum chamber) with a precision of a few micrometers. This separates the region of condensate production from that used for scientific studies. The science chamber has excellent optical and mechanical access, and the vacuum requirements in this region may well be less stringent than those necessary for production of BEC. This technique is ideally suited to deliver condensates close to surfaces, e.g. to microscopic waveguides and into electromagnetic cavities.
Summary form only given. Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) are generally produced by evaporative cooling of laser cooled atomic samples in magnetic traps. Though magnetic traps are indispensable for the production of a BEC, they pose restrictions on the possible studies with a BEC. Previous experiments of our group have demonstrated that it is possible to trap a BEC in the circular focus of a far-detuned infrared laser beam. This first realization of an optical dipole trap (ODT) for BEC was used to prepare and investigate spinor condensates of Na atoms in the F=1 hyperfine manifold. However, the initial peak density in this ODT after loading from the magnetic trap reached 10/sup 15/ atoms/cm/sup 3/, leading to rapid losses due to three-body collisions. To realize an ODT capable of storing large condensates for a long time, we have used a laser beam with an elliptical beam profile. The optical trap is loaded by superimposing the light field onto the magnetic trap and then slowly turning off the magnetic fields. The transfer efficiency is close to 100%, and thus more than 10/sup 7/ Bose-condensed atoms can be loaded into the ODT.
Transporting cold atoms between distant sections of a vacuum system is a central ingredient in many quantum simulation experiments, in particular in setups, where large optical access and precise control over magnetic fields is needed. In this work, we demonstrate optical transport of cold cesium atoms over a total transfer distance of about 43 cm in less than 30ms30\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{ms}30ms. The high speed is facilitated by a moving lattice, which is generated via the interference of a Bessel and a Gaussian laser beam. We transport about $3\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{6}$ atoms at a temperature of a few microkelvins with a transport efficiency of about 7575%75. We provide a detailed study of the transport efficiency for different accelerations and lattice depths and find that the transport efficiency is mainly limited by a fast initial loss most likely due to the sudden onset of the acceleration and the potential depth along the direction of gravity. To highlight the suitability of the optical-transport setup for quantum simulation experiments, we demonstrate the generation of a pure Bose-Einstein condensate with about $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{4}$ atoms. We find a robust final atom number within 22%2 over a duration of 2.5 h with a standard deviation of <5<5%<5 between individual experimental realizations.
We describe a versatile and simple scheme for producing magnetically and optically trapped 87 Rb Bose–Einstein condensates, based on a moving-coil transporter apparatus. The apparatus features a TOP trap that incorporates the movable quadrupole coils used for magneto-optical trapping and long-distance magnetic transport of atomic clouds. As a stand-alone device, this trap allows for the stable production of condensates containing up to one million atoms. In combination with an optical dipole trap, the TOP trap acts as a funnel for efficient loading, after which the quadrupole coils can be retracted, thereby maximizing optical access. The robustness of this scheme is illustrated by realizing the superfluid-to-Mott insulator transition in a three-dimensional optical lattice.
Gaseous Bose-Einstein condensates of 2-3 x 10(6) 23Na atoms were loaded into a microfabricated magnetic trap using optical tweezers. Subsequently, the condensates were released into a magnetic waveguide and propagated 12 mm. Single-mode propagation was observed along homogeneous segments of the waveguide. Inhomogeneities in the guiding potential arose from geometric deformations of the microfabricated wires and caused strong transverse excitations. Such deformations may restrict the waveguide physics that can be explored with propagating condensates. Finer perturbations to the guiding potential fragmented the condensate when it was brought closer to the surface.
This thesis describes the design, construction and optimisation of a new apparatus to produce Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) of 87Rb atoms. The main aim in building this system was to include a high resolution imaging system capable of resolving single atoms. Optical access for the imaging system was created by including a stage of atom transport in which the atoms are magnetically transferred ~50 cm from a magneto-optical trap (MOT), where they are initially collected, to a glass science cell where experiments are carried out and imaging takes place. Two magnetic transport schemes have been demonstrated, based on approaches first used in other laboratories. First, a scheme in which the atoms are transferred in a moving pair of magnetic trapping coils. Second, a hybrid scheme where the atoms are translated part of the distance in the moving coils, and the rest of the way by switching the current in a chain of fixed coils. This second scheme was designed to allow optical access for a high numerical aperture microscope objective to be placed immediately next to the science cell for high resolution imaging.The atoms were first collected in a large pyramid MOT which can be loaded with 3 × 10^9 atoms in a time of 20 s. Around half of these atoms – those in the |F = 1, mF = −1> magnetic substate – were then magnetically trapped prior to transport. The typical fraction of the trapped atoms transferred to the science cell was ~30% and ~18% for the moving coils and hybrid schemes respectively.Evaporative cooling was carried out on the atom cloud following transport with the moving coils and loading into a time-orbiting potential trap. The optimised cooling sequence lasted for 28 s and consistently produced a pure condensate with 5 × 10^5 atoms. A BEC has also been produced by evaporative cooling following hybrid transport. The next experimental steps will be to optimise the hybrid transfer approach further and install the high resolution imaging system.The system is well-placed to continue an ongoing series of experiments in which ultracold atoms are trapped in RF-dressed potentials. These potentials will be used to study low-dimensional quantum gases as well as in experiments where small atom number BECs are rapidly rotated to enter the fractional quantum Hall regime.