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arXiv:physics/0609133 · Modern Physics Letters B

LASER COOLING AND TRAPPING OF ATOMIC STRONTIUM FOR ULTRACOLD ATOMS PHYSICS, HIGH-PRECISION SPECTROSCOPY AND QUANTUM SENSORS

Fiodor Sorrentino, G. FERRARI, N. Poli, Robert E. Drullinger, Guglielmo Maria Tino

Published Sep 20, 2006• 42 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

This review describes the production of atomic strontium samples at ultra-low temperature and at high phase-space density, and their possible use for physical studies and applications. We describe the process of loading a magneto-optical trap from an atomic beam and preparing the sample for high precision measurements. Particular emphasis is given to the applications of ultracold Sr samples, spanning from optical frequency metrology to force sensing at micrometer scale.

DOI
10.1142/s0217984906011682

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Summary form only given. Alkali-earth atoms have an electronic level structure particularly suited for applications in matter-wave interferometry and high-precision laser spectroscopy. Recently atomic strontium was the subject of active research in several fields such as all-optical cooling towards quantum degeneracy and detection of ultra-narrow optical transitions. Because of its small elastic cross-section, we show that ultra-cold88Sr in presence of a lattice potential is also particularly well suited for the realization of inertial sensors to accurately measure forces with micro-metric spatial resolution. By loading the sample into a vertical lattice potential we observe persistent Bloch oscillations with a damping time longer than 10 seconds, and from the measured Bloch frequency we determine the local gravity with a sensitivity of 5 x 10-6g. Our result has direct implications in force measurements at small distances from surfaces such as tests of possible deviations form the Newtonian gravity potential at sub-millimetre distances. We will present the status of a force measurement at distances below 20 mum from dielectric and metallic surfaces, which based on ultra-cold atoms undergoing Bloch oscillations. We will also report on the progress towards the realization of an optical frequency standard based on the highly forbidden1S0-3Po 88Sr intercombination line at 698 nm as well as the realization of a laser suited for precision spectroscopy on this transition.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC)•Jun 1, 2007•0 citations
This review describes the production of atomic strontium samples at ultra-low temperature and at high phase-space density, and their possible use for physical studies and applications. We describe the process of loading a magneto-optical trap from an atomic beam and preparing the sample for high precision measurements. Particular emphasis is given to the applications of ultracold Sr samples, spanning from optical frequency metrology to force sensing at micrometer scale.
We report on our progress toward the realization of an optical frequency standard referenced to strontium intercombination lines. While first frequency measurement of the weakly allowed 1S 0- 3P 1 transition was done with saturation spectroscopy on a thermal beam, we are preparing the experimental setup for high resolution spectroscopy on ultracold atoms of the doubly forbidden 1S 0- 3P 0 line. Our current setup allows the capture more than 10 7 atoms at 1 μK in 500 ms in two stages of magneto-optical trapping. We also demonstrated the dipole trapping of ultracold strontium isotopes for accurate spectroscopy and collisional measurements. A semiconductor laser source at 698 nm has already been locked to a pre-stabilization cavity obtaining a fast linewidth of less than 1 kHz. Second stage stabilization of the clock laser to ultra-high finesse cavity is in development. Recent measurement of elastic and inelastic cross-sections of the two most abundant 88Sr and 86Sr isotopes are also presented.
Atoms can be trapped at the foci of intense laser beams, which can enable the study of interactions and dynamics of ultracold gases. In this thesis, we will describe our\nnew trap designs. A large volume pancake-shaped optical dipole trap is initially used for loading large numbers of atoms from a Magneto-Optical Trap. A BEC with a large number of 84 Sr atoms has been achieved after evaporation in this trap. To form degenerate gas of 88 Sr we compress the mixture of 88 Sr and 87 Sr from the loading trap\ninto a superimposed dimple trap. This combination improves the reproducibility of the experiment and shortens the time required to create quantum degenerate samples,\nwhile we are able to create 88 Sr BEC with high density. In order to generate BEC of 86 Sr, an isotope with large scattering length and extremely high three-body loss\nrate, we implement an optical sheet trap which has an aspect ratio of 1:10. The tight axis in the vertical direction provides strong potential to hold against gravity while the large horizontal dimension brings up the trap volume and keeps down the atomic\ndensity.
Ultracold polar molecules have emerged as promising platforms for quantum simulation, quantum information science, precision measurements of fundamental symmetry violations, and quantum chemistry. Over the past decade, rapid progress in direct laser cooling of molecules has enabled new capabilities such as magneto-optical traps (MOTs), sub-Doppler cooling, and optical dipole traps (ODTs), expanding the quantum toolbox with ultracold molecules of complex internal structures and strong dipolar interactions. This thesis presents the design, construction, and operation of an experiment on ultracold strontium monofluoride (88Sr19F) molecules, demonstrating state-of-the-art techniques for molecular laser cooling and trapping. The apparatus integrates a broad range of technical sub-systems, including cryogenics, ultra-high vacuum, optics, electronics, and automated laboratory control software. SrF molecules produced in a slowed cryogenic buffer gas beam are captured into a dual-frequency MOT. Subsequent Λ-enhanced gray molasses cooling reduces the molecule temperature to as low as 5 μK. A novel blue-detuned MOT is also implemented to further compress the molecular cloud, increasing the density by a factor of ∼ 400. At this high density, SrF molecules are efficiently loaded into an ODT, a tight, conservative trap with long lifetimes. Population transfer between different rotational levels is achieved via optical pumping and coherent microwave control, yielding ∼ 0.8 ms coherence time in Rabi oscillation and ∼ 90 % transfer efficiency. This thesis also describes the development of an ultracold rubidium (87Rb) atom experiment, in which a loading rate of ∼ 10^10 atoms/s into a radio-frequency (RF) MOT is demonstrated. A modular two-dimensional MOT serves as the Rb source and can be seamlessly integrated into the SrF apparatus, opening the possibility for future studies of co-trapping and sympathetic cooling of SrF molecules with atoms. The results presented in this thesis establish an experimental foundation for exploring new frontiers in ultracold molecular physics.
We report narrow-line laser cooling and trapping of strontium atoms down to the photon recoil temperature. 88Sr{}^{88}\mathrm{Sr}88Sr atoms precooled by the broad $^{1}S_{0}\ensuremath{-}^{1}P_{1}$ transition at 461 nm were further cooled in a magneto-optical trap using the spin-forbidden transition $^{1}S_{0}\ensuremath{-}^{3}P_{1}$ at 689 nm. We have thus obtained an atomic sample with a density over ${10}^{12}\mathrm{cm}{}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$ and a minimum temperature of 400 nK, corresponding to a maximum phase space density of ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}2}$ which is 3 orders of magnitude larger than the value that has been obtained by magneto-optical traps to date. This scheme provides us an opportunity and system to study quantum statistical properties of degenerate fermions as well as bosons.
We report on our progress toward the realization of a compact optical frequency standard referenced to strontium intercombination lines. Our current setup allows the production of ultracold Sr atoms in hundreds of ms. For high resolution spectroscopy of the 1S0-3P0 doubly forbidden transition we have prepared a 698 nm clock laser stabilized on a high finesse, symmetrically suspended cavity and a high power 813 nm light source for the optical lattice trap at the magic wavelength. Due to their compactness, reliability, and low power consumption, semiconductor laser sources represent the best choice for the development of compact and transportable devices for application both on Earth and in Space. A new Sr trapping and cooling experimental setup is also presented.
Summary form only given. Alkali-earth atoms have an electronic level structure particularly suited for applications in matter-wave interferometry and high-precision laser spectroscopy. Recently atomic strontium was the subject of active research in several fields such as all-optical cooling towards quantum degeneracy and detection of ultra-narrow optical transitions. Because of its small elastic cross-section, we show that ultra-cold88Sr in presence of a lattice potential is also particularly well suited for the realization of inertial sensors to accurately measure forces with micro-metric spatial resolution. By loading the sample into a vertical lattice potential we observe persistent Bloch oscillations with a damping time longer than 10 seconds, and from the measured Bloch frequency we determine the local gravity with a sensitivity of 5 x 10-6g. Our result has direct implications in force measurements at small distances from surfaces such as tests of possible deviations form the Newtonian gravity potential at sub-millimetre distances. We will present the status of a force measurement at distances below 20 mum from dielectric and metallic surfaces, which based on ultra-cold atoms undergoing Bloch oscillations. We will also report on the progress towards the realization of an optical frequency standard based on the highly forbidden1S0-3Po 88Sr intercombination line at 698 nm as well as the realization of a laser suited for precision spectroscopy on this transition.