Cesium Atoms Research Articles

Population engineering of the cesium atom fine structure levels using linearly chirped Gaussian laser pulse

Abstract Population transfer between the fine structure levels of the cesium atom is numerically investigated when a linearly chirped Gaussian pulse interacts with the atom. For this purpose, the time-dependent Hamiltonian of the quantum system is developed and the Schrodinger equation is solved. In result the transition probabilities are obtained and discussed towards precise controlling of the system dynamics. The results show that for both single-pulse and multi-pulse cases, the probability of the final population distribution of levels can be flexibly controlled by optimal adjustment of the laser parameters. In addition, it is shown that the transition probabilities increase with the increasing of the pulse duration in the single pulse case as well as increasing the number of pulses in the multi-pulse system.

Low-drift Zeeman shifted atomic frequency reference

We present a simple method for producing a low-drift atomic frequency reference based upon the Zeeman effect. Our Zeeman Shifted Atomic Reference `ZSAR' is demonstrated to have tens of GHz tuning range, limited only by the strength of the applied field. ZSAR uses Doppler-free laser spectroscopy in a thermal vapor where the vapor is situated in a large, static and controllable magnetic field. We use a heated $^{85}$Rb vapor cell between a pair of position-adjustable permanent magnets capable of applying magnetic fields up to 1 T. To demonstrate the frequency reference we use a spectral feature from the Zeeman shifted D1 line in $^{85}$Rb at 795 nm to stabilize a laser to the 7S$_{1/2}$ $\longrightarrow$ 23P$_{1/2}$ transition in atomic cesium, which is detuned by approximately 19 GHz from the unperturbed Rb transition. We place an upper bound on the stability of the technique by measuring a 2.5 MHz RMS frequency difference between the two spectral features over a 24 hour period. This versatile method could be adapted easily for use with other atomic species and the tuning range readily increased by applying larger magnetic fields.

Near-Ground-State Cooling of Atoms Optically Trapped 300 nm Away from a Hot Surface

Laser-cooled atoms coupled to nanophotonic structures constitute a powerful research platform for the exploration of new regimes of light-matter interaction. While the initialization of the atomic internal degrees of freedom in these systems has been achieved, a full preparation of the atomic quantum state also requires controlling the center of mass motion of the atoms at the quantum level. Obtaining such control is not straightforward, due to the close vicinity of the atoms to the photonic system that is at ambient temperature. Here, we demonstrate cooling of individual neutral Cesium atoms, that are optically interfaced with light in an optical nanofiber, preparing them close to their three-dimensional motional ground state. The atoms are localized less than 300nm away from the hot fiber surface. Ground-state preparation is achieved by performing degenerate Raman cooling, and the atomic temperature is inferred from the analysis of heterodyne fluorescence spectroscopy signals. Our cooling method can be implemented either with externally applied or guided light fields. Moreover, it relies on polarization gradients which naturally occur for strongly confined guided optical fields. Thus, this method can be implemented in any trap based on nanophotonic structures. Our results provide an ideal starting point for the study of novel effects such as light-induced self-organization, the measurement of novel optical forces, and the investigation of heat transfer at the nanoscale using quantum probes.

Sorting ultracold atoms in a three-dimensional optical lattice in a realization of Maxwell's demon.

In 1872, Maxwell proposed his famous 'demon' thought experiment1. By discerning which particles in a gas are hot and which are cold, and then performing a series of reversible actions, Maxwell's demon could rearrange the particles into a manifestly lower-entropy state. This apparent violation of the second law of thermodynamics was resolved by twentieth-century theoretical work2: the entropy of the Universe is often increased while gathering information3, and there is an unavoidable entropy increase associated with the demon's memory4. The appeal of the thought experiment has led many real experiments to be framed as demon-like. However, past experiments had no intermediate information storage5, yielded only a small change in the system entropy6,7 or involved systems of four or fewer particles8-10. Here we present an experiment that captures the full essence of Maxwell's thought experiment. We start with a randomly half-filled three-dimensional optical lattice with about 60 atoms. We make the atoms sufficiently vibrationally cold so that the initial disorder is the dominant entropy. After determining where the atoms are, we execute a series of reversible operations to create a fully filled sublattice, which is a manifestly low-entropy state. Our sorting process lowers the total entropy of the system by a factor of 2.44. This highly filled ultracold array could be used as the starting point for a neutral-atom quantum computer.

Watt-level narrow-linewidth fibered laser source at 852 nm for FIB application

We realize a 1W all-fibered polarized compact and robust laser source at 852nm for laser cooling of cesium atoms. The architecture is based on the sum-frequency generation of 1540 and 1908nm lasers, realized through a periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide with a conversion efficiency of 40%. A linewidth of 20kHz is achieved with the development of a distributed feedback fiber laser at 1908nm. The operation of this laser source is demonstrated on a focused ion beam (FIB) experiment based on cold cesium atoms.

Atomic Momentum Diffusion in the Field of Counter-Propagating Stochastic Light Waves

The momentum diffusion of atoms in the field of two counter-propagating stochastic waves, one of which reproduces the other one with a certain time delay, has been studied. It is shown that the parameters of atom-field interaction, at which the light pressure force is maximum, correspond to the increasing momentum diffusion coefficient. In the case of high-intensity field described by the stochastic field model, the momentum diffusion coefficient was found to be proportional to the square root of the field autocorrelation time. The wave function describing the inner state of atoms is modeled, by using the Monte-Carlo method. Numerical calculations are carried out for cesium atoms.

Measurement of Zeeman Shift of Cesium Atoms Using an Optical Nanofiber**Supported by National Key Research and Development Program of China under Grant No 2017YFA0304203, the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos 61675120 and 11434007, the National Natural Science Foundation of China for Excellent Research Team under Grant No 61121064, the Shanxi Scholarship Council of China, the 1331KSC,

Nanofibers have many promising applications because of their advantages of high power density and ultralow saturated light intensity. We present here a Zeeman shift of the Doppler-broadened cesium D2 transition using a tapered optical nanofiber in the presence of a magnetic field. When a weak magnetic field is parallel to the propagating light in the nanofiber, the Zeeman shift rates for different circularly polarized spectra are observed. For the σ+ component, the typical linear Zeeman shift rates of F = 3 and F = 4 ground-state cesium atoms are measured to be 3.10(±0.19) MHz/G and 3.91(±0.16) MHz/G. For the σ− component, the values are measured to be −2.81(±0.25) MHz/G, and −0.78(±0.28) MHz/G. The Zeeman shift using the tapered nanofiber can help to develop magnetometers to measure the magnetic field at the narrow local region and the dispersive signal to lock laser frequency.

Observation of Quantum Spin Noise in a 1D Light-Atoms Quantum Interface

We observe collective quantum spin states of an ensemble of atoms in a one-dimensional light-atom interface. Strings of hundreds of cesium atoms trapped in the evanescent fiel of a tapered nanofiber are prepared in a coherent spin state, a superposition of the two clock states. A weak quantum nondemolition measurement of one projection of the collective spin is performed using a detuned probe dispersively coupled to the collective atomic observable, followed by a strong destructive measurement of the same spin projection. For the coherent spin state we achieve the value of the quantum projection noise 40 dB above the detection noise, well above the 3 dB required for reconstruction of the negative Wigner function of nonclassical states. We analyze the effects of strong spatial inhomogeneity inherent to atoms trapped and probed by the evanescent waves. We furthermore study temporal dynamics of quantum fluctuations relevant for measurement-induced spin squeezing and assess the impact of thermal atomic motion. This work paves the road towards observation of spin squeezed and entangled states and many-body interactions in 1D spin ensembles.

Magnetic Resonance Frequency Shifts of Spin-Polarized Cesium Atoms in a Cs–Rb Mixture

The interaction of spin-polarized cesium atoms with cesium and rubidium atoms under conditions of optical orientation of atoms is considered. On the basis of data on spin-exchange complex cross sections in the Cs–Cs and Cs–Rb systems, a calculation of a magnetic resonance frequency shift of cesium atoms in a Cs–Rb mixture, as well as comparison of the calculated values of the frequency shift with experimental data, is performed.

Transition from electromagnetically induced transparency to Autler–Townes splitting in cold cesium atoms

Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and Autler–Townes splitting (ATS) are two similar yet distinct phenomena that modify the transmission of a weak probe field through an absorption medium in the presence of a coupling field, featured in a variety of three-level atomic systems. In many applications it is important to distinguish EIT from ATS splitting. We present EIT and ATS spectra in a three-level cascade system, involving cold cesium atoms in the Rydberg state. The EIT linewidth, γEIT, defined as the full width at half maximum of the transparency window, and the ATS splitting, γATS, defined as the peak-to-peak distance between AT absorption peaks, are used to delineate the EIT and ATS regimes and to characterize the transition between the regimes. In the cold-atom medium, in the weak-coupler (EIT) regime γEIT ≈ A + B( + , where Ωc and Ωp are the coupler and probe Rabi frequencies, Γeg is the spontaneous decay rate of the intermediate 6P3/2 level, and parameters A and B that depend on the laser linewidth. We explore the transition into the strong-coupler (ATS) regime, which is characterized by the relation γATS ≈ Ωc. The experiments are in agreement with numerical solutions of the Master equation. Our analysis accounts for non-ideal conditions that exist in typical realizations of Rydberg-EIT, including laser-frequency jitter, Doppler mismatch of the utilized two-color Rydberg EIT system, and strong probe fields. The obtained criteria to distinguish cold-atom EIT from ATS are readily accessible and applicable in practical implementations.

A high-precision and fast-sampling frequency measurement method based on FPGA carry chain for airborne optically pumped cesium magnetometer.

Improving the precision and sampling rate of the resonance frequency of cesium atoms is the key to enhancing the same factors of an airborne optically pumped cesium magnetometer (AOPCM). Aiming at the existed problems of AOPCM and characteristics of resonance signal, this paper proposes a high-precision and fast-sampling frequency measurement method based on carry chains of Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). In order to achieve a fast-sampling rate, an improved equal precision frequency measurement method is proposed to measure the standard signal and the resonance signal continuously. Besides, by using the serial full adder to connect FPGA carry chains to a delay line, the delay line is used to compensate the unsynchronized clock edge, so the counting error can be reduced, and the precision of frequency measurement can be improved greatly. Experiments show that the frequency resolution is 0.014 nT and the relative error is lower than 2 × 10-6 when the sampling rate is 500 Hz. The experimental result indicates that the proposed method improves the precision and sampling rate of resonance frequency measurement greatly. Consequently, the precision and sampling rate of AOPCM can be improved.

Autoionization cross-sections of cesium and barium atoms for 5p<sup>6</sup> shell excited by electron impact

Background : The presence of a closed valence shell in alkaline-earth atoms makes the processes of their excitation and ionization as a whole much more complicated than for neighboring alkali atoms. In order to find patterns and differences in the course of autoionization in these two groups of atoms, it is interesting to compare their autoionization cross sections. Studies of the latter for alkaline-earth atoms have not been conducted until recently. In this paper, the 5p 6 autoionization cross sections of cesium and barium atoms excited by electrons were investigated in the impact-energy range from the excitation threshold of the 5p 6 subshells to 600 eV. Methods : The measurements of the ejected-electron spectra of Cs and Ba atoms were carried out by using an electron spectrometer consisted of a source of the incident electron beam, an electron energy analyzer (of 127 ° electrostatic type) and an atomic beam source. To minimize the influence of the anisotropy of the angular distribution of ejected electrons, the measurements were carried out at a magic observation angle of 54.7 ° . The incident and ejected-electron energy resolutions were about 0.4 eV and 0.07 eV, respectively. The increment step of the incident electron energy was 0.1 eV in the near-threshold energy region. The autoionization cross section of Cs and Ba atoms were determined as the normalized total intensities of ejected-electron spectra measured at different impact energies. Results : The autoionization cross sections for 5p 6 subshells in Cs and Ba atoms were determined in an incident-electron energy range from the lowest autoionization thresholds up to 600 eV. The energy behavior of both cross sections is characterized by the presence of the strong resonance structure in the threshold region of 12-23 eV and a broad maximum at approximately 100 eV. The cross sections reach their maximum value of 4.2×10 -16 сm 2 for cesium and 6.7×10 -16 сm 2 for barium at 14.8 eV and 17.4 eV, respectively. An analysis is made of the excitation and decay processes of the 5p 5 n 1 l 1 n 2 l 2 (Cs) and 5p 5 n 1 l 1 n 2 l 2 n 3 l 3 (Ba) autoionizing states that determine the magnitude and the energy behavior of the autoionization cross sections. Conclusions : The strong resonant excitation of the lowest levels in 5p 5 6s 2 , 5p 5 5d6s configurations in cesium and 5p 5 5d6s 2 , 5p 5 5d 2 6s,6p,6d,7d, 5p 5 6s 2 6p,7s,7d and 5p 5 5d6s6p;7s,7d configurations in barium determines the resonant behavior of the measured autoionization cross sections at low impact energies. The shape and magnitude of the cross sections at high impact energies are determined by the total contribution from doublet autoionizing states in cesium and dipole-allowed autoionizing states in the lowest configurations 5p 5 5d6s 2 and 5p 5 5d 2 6s in barium.

A null test of general relativity based on a long-term comparison of atomic transition frequencies

The local position invariance principle of general relativity stipulates that non-gravitational experiments should give outcomes that are independent of the position and orientation of the reference frames in which they have been performed. Here, we study the change in the rates of clocks on Earth with the spatial change of the solar potential, constraining the variation of a non-gravitational interaction—the hyperfine splitting in hydrogen and caesium atoms—to β = (2.2 ± 2.5) × 10−7, a factor of two improvement over previous estimates. Our result is based on the comparison between the long-term fractional frequency variation of four hydrogen masers that are part of an ensemble of clocks comprising the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, and the fractional frequencies of primary frequency standards operated by leading metrology laboratories in the United States, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom over a period of more than 14 years. Using our results together with the previous best estimates of β, we impose strict limits on the variation of fundamental constants, resulting in a test of general relativity with an unprecedented level of precision.

Electron-Stimulated Desorption of Cesium Atoms from Graphene-Covered Iridium

Electron-stimulated desorption (ESD) of cesium atoms from graphene on a metal (iridium) substrate has been directly observed for the first time using the time-of-flight technique with a surface-ionization detector. The appearance threshold of the yield of Cs atoms from the sample surface at 160 K was 20 eV. An additional ESD peak of Cs atoms was observed at an electron energy of 56 eV. The observed ESD of Cs atoms from graphene is related to the nonmetal nature of this carbon film on the metal substrate surface.

Measurement of the lifetime of the 7sS1/22 state in atomic cesium using asynchronous gated detection

We report a measurement of the lifetime of the cesium $7s\,^2S_{1/2}$ state using time-correlated single-photon counting spectroscopy in a vapor cell. We excite the atoms using a Doppler-free two-photon transition from the $6s\,^2S_{1/2}$ ground state, and detect the 1.47$\mu$m photons from the spontaneous decay of the $7s\,^2S_{1/2}$ to the $6p\,^2P_{3/2}$ state. We use a gated single photon detector in an asynchronous mode, allowing us to capture the fluorescence profile for a window much larger than the detector gate length. Analysis of the exponential decay of the photon count yields a $7s\,^2S_{1/2}$ lifetime of 48.28$\pm$0.07ns, an uncertainty of 0.14%. These measurements provide sensitive tests of theoretical models of the Cs atom, which play a central role in parity violation measurements.

Absolute frequency of cesium 6S1/2-6D3/2 hyperfine transition with a precision to nuclear magnetic octupole interaction.

We have determined the fundamental frequency of the cesium atom 6S1/2-6D3/2 two-photon transition, for the first time, to our knowledge. Moreover, our high-resolution scheme made it possible to address the influence of the nuclear magnetic octupole on the hyperfine structure. We found that the octupole-interaction hyperfine constant deduced from the cesium 6D-level has a value nearly eight times larger than what has been deduced from the 6P-level.

First uncertainty evaluation of the FoCS-2 primary frequency standard

We report the uncertainty evaluation of the Swiss continuous primary frequency standard FoCS-2 (Fontaine Continue Suisse). Unlike other primary frequency standards which are working with clouds of cold atoms, this fountain uses a continuous beam of cold caesium atoms bringing a series of metrological advantages and specific techniques for the evaluation of the uncertainty budget. Recent improvements of FoCS-2 have made possible the evaluation of the frequency shifts and of their uncertainties in the order of . When operating in an optimal regime a relative frequency instability of is obtained. The relative standard uncertainty reported in this article, , is strongly dominated by the statistics of the frequency measurements.

Building one molecule from a reservoir of two atoms.

Chemical reactions typically proceed via stochastic encounters between reactants. Going beyond this paradigm, we combined exactly two atoms in a single, controlled reaction. The experimental apparatus traps two individual laser-cooled atoms [one sodium (Na) and one cesium (Cs)] in separate optical tweezers and then merges them into one optical dipole trap. Subsequently, photoassociation forms an excited-state NaCs molecule. The discovery of previously unseen resonances near the molecular dissociation threshold and measurement of collision rates are enabled by the tightly trapped ultracold sample of atoms. As laser-cooling and trapping capabilities are extended to more elements, the technique will enable the study of more diverse, and eventually more complex, molecules in an isolated environment, as well as synthesis of designer molecules for qubits.

Measurement of the fine-structure constant as a test of the Standard Model.

Measurements of the fine-structure constant α require methods from across subfields and are thus powerful tests of the consistency of theory and experiment in physics. Using the recoil frequency of cesium-133 atoms in a matter-wave interferometer, we recorded the most accurate measurement of the fine-structure constant to date: α = 1/137.035999046(27) at 2.0 × 10-10 accuracy. Using multiphoton interactions (Bragg diffraction and Bloch oscillations), we demonstrate the largest phase (12 million radians) of any Ramsey-Bordé interferometer and control systematic effects at a level of 0.12 part per billion. Comparison with Penning trap measurements of the electron gyromagnetic anomaly ge - 2 via the Standard Model of particle physics is now limited by the uncertainty in ge - 2; a 2.5σ tension rejects dark photons as the reason for the unexplained part of the muon's magnetic moment at a 99% confidence level. Implications for dark-sector candidates and electron substructure may be a sign of physics beyond the Standard Model that warrants further investigation.

Refining the fine-structure constant

Metrology The fine-structure constant, α, is a dimensionless constant that characterizes the strength of the electromagnetic interaction between charged elementary particles. Related by four fundamental constants, a precise determination of α allows for a test of the Standard Model of particle physics. Parker et al. used matter-wave interferometry with a cloud of cesium atoms to make the most accurate measurement of α to date. Determining the value of α to an accuracy of better than 1 part per billion provides an independent method for testing the accuracy of quantum electrodynamics and the Standard Model. It may also enable searches of the so-called “dark sector” for explanations of dark matter. Science , this issue p. [191][1] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aap7706