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arXiv:physics/0702119 · Physical Review Letters

Trapping of Rb Atoms by ac Electric Fields

Sophie Schlunk, Adela Marian, Peter Geng, Allard P. Mosk, Gerard Meijer, Wieland Schöllkopf

Published May 30, 2007• 30 citations
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Abstract

We demonstrate trapping of an ultracold gas of neutral atoms in a macroscopic ac electric trap. Three-dimensional confinement is obtained by switching between two saddle-point configurations of the electric field. Stable trapping is observed in a narrow range of switching frequencies around 60 Hz. The dynamic confinement of the atoms is directly visualized at different phases of the ac switching cycle. We observe about 10(5) Rb atoms in the 1 mm3 large and several microkelvins deep trap with a lifetime of approximately 5 s.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.98.223002

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We demonstrate trapping of an ultracold gas of neutral atoms in a macroscopic ac electric trap. Three-dimensional confinement is obtained by switching between two saddle-point configurations of the electric field. Stable trapping is observed in a narrow range of switching frequencies around 60 Hz. The dynamic confinement of the atoms is directly visualized at different phases of the ac switching cycle. We observe about 10(5) Rb atoms in the 1 mm3 large and several microkelvins deep trap with a lifetime of approximately 5 s.
We study the dynamic behavior of ultracold neutral atoms in a macroscopic ac electric trap. Confinement in such a trap is achieved by switching between two saddle-point configurations of the electric field. The gradual formation of a stably trapped cloud is observed and the trap performance is studied versus the switching frequency and the symmetry of the switching cycle. Additionally, the electric field in the trap is mapped out by imaging the atom cloud while the fields are still on. Finally, the phase-space acceptance of the trap is probed by introducing a modified switching cycle. The experimental results are reproduced using full three-dimensional trajectory calculations.
We here report on the realization of an electrodynamic trap, capable of trapping neutral atoms and molecules in both low-field and high-field seeking states. Confinement in three dimensions is achieved by switching between two electric field configurations that have a saddle point at the center of the trap, i.e., by alternating a focusing and a defocusing force in each direction. The ac trapping of 15ND(3) molecules is experimentally demonstrated, and the stability of the trap is studied as a function of the switching frequency. A 1 mK sample of 15ND(3) molecules in the high-field seeking component of the |J,K=|1,1 level, the ground state of para-ammonia, is trapped in a volume of about 1 mm(3).
We trap neutral ground-state rubidium atoms in a macroscopic trap based on purely electric fields. For this, three electrostatic field configurations are alternated in a periodic manner. The rubidium is precooled in a magneto-optical trap, transferred into a magnetic trap, and then translated into the electric trap. The electric trap consists of six rod-shaped electrodes in cubic arrangement, giving ample optical access. Up to 10;{5} atoms have been trapped with an initial temperature of around 20 microkelvin in the three-phase electric trap. The observations are in good agreement with detailed numerical simulations.
Ultracold atom experiments use a gas of neutral atoms with temperatures less than 100 µK above absolute zero and offer unmatched experimental control of quantum states and coherence, which has allowed ultracold atom-based measurements to be some of the most precise to date. While ultracold atom experiments can control almost all atomic degrees of freedom, spin-dependent trapping and spatial manipulation has remained difficult if not inaccessible. We are developing a method of spin-dependent trapping and spatial manipulation for ultracold neutral atoms using the AC Zeeman force produced by a microwave magnetic near-field gradient generated by an atom chip. We measure the AC Zeeman force on ultracold rubidium atoms by observing its effect on the motion of atoms in free-fall and on those confined in a trap. We have studied the force as a function of microwave frequency detuning from a hyperfine transition at 6.8 GHz at several magnetic field strengths and have observed its characteristic bipolar and resonant features predicted by two-level dressed atom theory. We find that the force is several times the strength of gravity in our setup, and that it can be targeted to a specific hyperfine transition while leaving other hyperfine states and transitions relatively unaffected. We find that our measurements are reasonably consistent with parameter-free theoretical predictions.