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arXiv:quant-ph/0301139 · Physical Review Letters

Rayleigh Scattering and Atomic Dynamics in Dissipative Optical Lattices

F.-R. Carminati, Laurent Sanchez-Palencia, Michele Schiavoni, Ferruccio Renzoni, G. Grynberg

Published Jan 29, 2003• 9 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We investigate Rayleigh scattering in dissipative optical lattices. In particular, following recent proposals [S. Guibal, Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 4709 (1997)]; C. Jurczak, Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 1727 (1996)]], we study whether the Rayleigh resonance originates from the diffraction on a density grating and is therefore a probe of transport of atoms in optical lattices. It turns out that this is not the case: the Rayleigh line is instead a measure of the cooling rate, while spatial diffusion contributes to the scattering spectrum with a much broader resonance.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.90.043901

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We investigate Rayleigh scattering in dissipative optical lattices. In particular, following recent proposals [S. Guibal, Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 4709 (1997)]; C. Jurczak, Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 1727 (1996)]], we study whether the Rayleigh resonance originates from the diffraction on a density grating and is therefore a probe of transport of atoms in optical lattices. It turns out that this is not the case: the Rayleigh line is instead a measure of the cooling rate, while spatial diffusion contributes to the scattering spectrum with a much broader resonance.
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Randomly diffusing atoms confined in a dissipative optical lattice are illuminated by a weak probe of light. The probe transmission spectrum reveals directed atomic propagation that occurs perpendicular to the direction of probe beam propagation. Resonant enhancement of this directed propagation is observed as we vary the random photon scattering rate. We experimentally characterize this stochastic resonance as a function of probe intensity and lattice well depth. A simple model reveals how the probe-excited atomic density waves and optical pumping rates conspire to create directed atomic propagation within a randomly diffusing sample.
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We present a study of pump-probe spectroscopy experiments in an optical lattice. The probe transmission spectrum contains three types of resonances similar to those found in usual nonlinear media: Raman, Brillouin and Rayleigh resonances. We show evidence of the existence of a propagating elementary excitation in the lattice which involves no interaction between the particles and lead to a Brillouin-like scattering. We discuss the central Rayleigh resonance and show that its shape is sensitive to the radiation pressure.
Using Bragg scattering as a sensitive probe, we study how atoms are cooled and localized after the sudden turn-on of 1D and 3D optical lattices. We measure the time evolution of the mean-square position spread of the atoms in the lattice potential wells, a quantity proportional to their effective temperature. The rate of exponential approach to equilibrium is proportional to the photon scattering rate and about 6 times faster in 1D than in 3D. This simple proportionality was unexpected, based on the usual model of Sisyphus cooling, but is in agreement with our 1D Monte Carlo simulations.