Optical Dipole Trap Research Articles

Nonequilibrium thermodynamics and optimal cooling of a dilute atomic gas

Characterizing and optimizing thermodynamic processes far from equilibrium is a challenge. This is especially true for nanoscopic systems made of few particles. We here theoretically and experimentally investigate the nonequilibrium dynamics of a gas of few noninteracting Cesium atoms confined in a nonharmonic optical dipole trap and exposed to degenerate Raman sideband cooling pulses. We determine the axial phase-space distribution of the atoms after each Raman cooling pulse by tracing the evolution of the gas with position-resolved fluorescence imaging. We evaluate from it the entropy production and the statistical length between each cooling steps. A single Raman pulse leads to a nonequilibrium state that does not thermalize on its own, due to the absence of interparticle collisions. Thermalization may be achieved by combining free phase-space evolution and trains of cooling pulses. We minimize the entropy production to a target thermal state to specify the optimal spacing between a sequence of equally spaced pulses and achieve in this way optimal thermalization. We finally use the statistical length to verify a refined version of the second law of thermodynamics. Altogether, these findings provide a general, theoretical and experimental, framework to analyze and optimize far-from-equilibrium processes of few-particle systems.

Prospects of Trapping Atoms with an Optical Dipole Trap in a Deep Parabolic Mirror for Light–Matter‐Interaction Experiments

AbstractThe prospects of employing a deep parabolic mirror as a focusing device for trapping neutral atoms in an optical dipole trap are evaluated. It is predicted that such a dipole trap will result in a deep trapping potential as well as in a small spatial spread of the atom's center of mass wave function already for a Doppler cooled atom. This strong confinement is beneficial for many applications, one of which is the increase of the interaction strength between an atom and a light field focused from full solid angle.

Effect of an echo sequence to a trapped single-atom interferometer with photon momentum kicks.

We investigate a single-atom interferometer (SAI) in an optical dipole trap (ODT) with photon momentum kicks. An echo sequence is used for the SAI. We find experimentally that interference visibilities of a counter-propagating Raman type SAI decay much faster than the co-propagating case. To understand the underlying mechanism, a wave-packet propagating simulation is developed for the ODT-guided SAI. We show that in state dependent dipole potentials, the coupling between external dynamics and internal states makes the atom evolve in different paths during the interfering process. The acquired momentum from counter-propagating Raman pulses forces the external motional wave packets of two paths be completely separated and the interferometer visibility decays quickly compared to that of the co-propagating Raman pulses process. Meanwhile, the echo interference visibility experiences revival or instantaneous collapse which depends on the π pulse adding time at approximate integer multiples or half integer multiples of the trap period.

Balanced Coherence Times of Atomic Qubits of Different Species in a Dual 3×3 Magic-Intensity Optical Dipole Trap Array.

We construct a polarization-mediated magic-intensity (MI) optical dipole trap (ODT) array, in which the detrimental effects of light shifts on the mixed-species qubits are efficiently mitigated so that the coherence times of the mixed-species qubits are both substantially enhanced and balanced for the first time. This mixed-species magic trapping technique relies on the tunability of the coefficient of the third-order cross term and ground state hyperpolarizability, which are inherently dependent on the degree of circular polarization of the trapping laser. Experimentally, polarization of the ODT array for ^{85}Rb qubits is finely adjusted to a definite value so that its working magnetic field required for magic trapping amounts to the one required for magically trapping ^{87}Rb qubits in another ODT array with fully circular polarization. Ultimately, in such a polarization-mediated MI-ODT array, the coherence times of ^{87}Rb and ^{85}Rb qubits are, respectively, enhanced up to 891±47 ms and 943±35 ms. Moreover, we reveal that the noise of the elliptic polarization causes dephasing effect on the ^{85}Rb qubits but it could be efficiently mitigated by choosing the dynamical range of active polarization device. We also show that light shifts seen by qubits in an elliptically polarized MI-ODT can be more efficiently compensated due to the decrease in the ground state hyperpolarizability. It is anticipated that the novel mixed-species MI-ODT array is a versatile platform for building scalable quantum computers with neutral atoms.

Simple and robust method for rapid cooling of 87Rb to quantum degeneracy**Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51275523) and the State Key Laboratory of Aerodynamics Research Fund, China (Grant No. SKLA2019040302).

We demonstrate a simple and fast way to produce 87Rb Bose–Einstein condensates. A digital optical phase lock loop (OPLL) board is introduced to lock and adjust the frequency of the trap laser, which simplifies the optical design and improves the experimental efficiency. We collect atoms in a magneto-optical trap, then compress the cloud and cut off hot atoms by rf knife in a magnetic quadrupole trap. The atom clouds are then transferred into a spatially mode-matched optical dipole trap by lowering the quadrupole field gradient. Our system reliably produces a condensate with 2×106 atoms every 7.5 s. The compact optical design and rapid preparation speed of our system will open the gate for mobile quantum sensing.

Spectroscopy of the 1001-nm transition in atomic dysprosium

We report on spectroscopy of cold dysprosium atoms on the $1001\,\mathrm{nm}$ transition and present measurements of the excited state lifetime which is at least $87.2(6.7)\,\mathrm{ms}$ long. Due to the long excited state lifetime we are able to measure the ratio of the excited state polarizability to the ground state polarizability at $1064\,\mathrm{nm}$ to be $0.828(0.129)$ by parametric heating in an optical dipole trap. In addition we measure the isotope shifts of the three most abundant bosonic isotopes of dysprosium on the $1001\,\mathrm{nm}$ transition with an accuracy better than $30\,\mathrm{kHz}$.

Production of 87Rb Bose–Einstein Condensate with a Simple Evaporative Cooling Method**Supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant Nos. 2016YFA0301803 and 2016YFA0302800), the Key-Area Research and Development Program of GuangDong Province (Grant No. 2019B030330001), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61378012, 91636218, 11822403, 11804104, 11804105, 61875060 and U1801661), the Natural Science Foundation of

A Bose–Einstein condensate with a large atom number is an important experimental platform for quantum simulation and quantum information research. An optical dipole trap is the a conventional way to hold the ultracold atoms, where an atomic cloud is evaporatively cooled down before reaching the Bose–Einstein condensate. A carefully designed trap depth controlling curve is typically required to realize the optimal evaporation cooling. We present and demonstrate a simple way to optimize the evaporation cooling in a crossed optical dipole trap. A polyline shape optical power control profile is easily obtained with our method, by which a pure Bose–Einstein condensate with atom number 1.73 × 105 is produced. Theoretically, we numerically simulate the optimal evaporation cooling using the parameters of our apparatus based on a kinetic theory. Compared to the simulation results, our evaporation cooling shows a good performance. We believe that our simple method can be used to quickly realize evaporation cooling in optical dipole traps.

Spectroscopy of atoms in an optical dipole trap using spectrally selective heating by a probe laser field

Spectral properties of atoms localised in an optical dipole trap are studied using the method of spectrally selective heating by a probe field. The method is based on measuring the number of atoms in a trap after they interact with a probe field. The dependence of the number of atoms on the frequency of the probe field fully characterises the shift and width of the spectral absorption line of trapped atoms.

Mean-field interaction-induced dimensional crossover from two to three dimensions in a weakly interacting Bose gas

We study an interaction-induced dimensional crossover from two to three dimensions in a weakly interacting $^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). A highly oblate harmonic optical dipole trap was used where we independently controlled the chemical potential and the temperature of the gas. The dimensional crossover was studied from the thermal state occupancy of atoms. In particular, the growth rate of the thermal component was measured, which contradicted the expected behavior in a fixed dimension. Crossover chemical potential and temperature were obtained at the crossover point. We further validate our observation by numerical calculations based on mean-field Hartree-Fock theory and local density approximation, which not only provided a qualitative picture of the underlying mechanism for the dimensional crossover, but also matched well with the experimentally measured crossover parameter.

Evaporative cooling from an optical dipole trap in microgravity

In recent years, cold atoms could prove their scientific impact not only on ground but in microgravity environments such as the drop tower in Bremen, sounding rockets and parabolic flights. We investigate the preparation of cold atoms in an optical dipole trap, with an emphasis on evaporative cooling under microgravity. Up to $ 1\times10^{6} $ rubidium-87 atoms were optically trapped from a temporarily dark magneto optical trap during free fall in the droptower in Bremen. The efficiency of evaporation is determined to be equal with and without the effect of gravity. This is confirmed using numerical simulations that prove the dimension of evaporation to be three-dimensional in both cases due to the anharmonicity of optical potentials. These findings pave the way towards various experiments on ultra-cold atoms under microgravity and support other existing experiments based on atom chips but with plans for additional optical dipole traps such as the upcoming follow-up missions to current and past spaceborne experiments.

Atom femto trap: experimental realization

In this work, we demonstrate the trapping of rubidium (Rb) atoms in a pulsed optical dipole trap formed by femtosecond laser radiation with a pulse duration as small as 70 fs. The atom localization in such trap strongly depends on the heating of the atoms caused by the momentum diffusion due to the dipole force fluctuations. The atom femto traps can be used for localization of atoms others than alkaline and alkaline earth atomic elements by conversation of pulsed laser radiation of visible or near infrared to UV spectral.

Triply Magic Conditions for Microwave Transition of Optically Trapped Alkali-Metal Atoms.

We report the finding of "triply magic" conditions (the doubly magic frequency-intensity conditions of an optical dipole trap plus the magic magnetic field) for the microwave transitions of optically trapped alkali-metal atoms. The differential light shift (DLS) induced by a degenerate two-photon process is adopted to compensate a DLS associated with the one-photon process. Thus, doubly magic conditions for the intensity and frequency of the optical trap beam can be found. Moreover, the DLS decouples from the magnetic field in a linearly polarized optical dipole trap, so that the magic condition of the magnetic field can be applied independently. Therefore, the triply magic conditions can be realized simultaneously. We also experimentally demonstrate the doubly magic frequency-intensity conditions as well as the independence of the magnetic field. When the triply magic conditions are fulfilled, the inhomogeneous and homogeneous decoherences for the optically trapped atom will be dramatically suppressed, and the coherence time can be extended significantly.

Microwave spectroscopy of radio-frequency-dressedRb87

We study the hyperfine spectrum of atoms of $^{87}$Rb dressed by a radio-frequency field, and present experimental results in three different situations: freely falling atoms, atoms trapped in an optical dipole trap and atoms in an adiabatic radio-frequency dressed shell trap. In all cases, we observe several resonant side bands spaced (in frequency) at intervals equal to the dressing frequency, corresponding to transitions enabled by the dressing field. We theoretically explain the main features of the microwave spectrum, using a semi-classical model in the low field limit and the Rotating Wave Approximation for alkali-like species in general and $^{87}$Rb atoms in particular. As a proof of concept, we demonstrate how the spectral signal of a dressed atomic ensemble enables an accurate determination of the dressing configuration and the probing microwave field.

Oscillatory-like expansion of a Fermionic superfluid

We study the expansion behaviors of a Fermionic superfluid in a cigar-shaped optical dipole trap for the whole BEC-BCS crossover and various temperatures. At low temperature (0.06(1)TF), the atom cloud undergoes an anisotropic hydrodynamic expansion over 30 ms, which behaves like oscillation in the horizontal plane. By analyzing the expansion dynamics according to the superfluid hydrodynamic equation, the effective polytropic index γ¯ of Equation-of-State (EoS) of Fermionic superfluid is extracted. The γ¯ values show a non-monotonic behavior over the BEC-BCS crossover, and have a good agreement with the theoretical results in the unitarity and BEC side. The normalized quasi-frequencies of the oscillatory expansion are measured, which drop significantly from the BEC side to the BCS side and reach a minimum value of 1.73 around 1/kFa=-0.25. Our work improves the understanding of the dynamic properties of strongly interacting Fermi gas.

Scalar, tensor, and vector polarizability of Tm atoms in a 532-nm dipole trap

Dipolar atoms have unique properties, making them interesting for laser cooling and quantum simulations. But, due to relatively large orbital momentum in the ground state these atoms may have large dynamic tensor and vector polarizabilities in the ground state. This enables the formation of spin-dependent optical traps. In this paper real part of tensor and vector dynamic polarizability was experimentally measured and compared to theoretical simulation. For an optical dipole trap operating around 532.07 nm tensor, polarizability was found to be $ - 145 \pm 53\,\,{\rm{a}}{\rm{.u}}{\rm{.}}$ and vector was $680 \pm 240\,\,{\rm{a}}{\rm{.u}}{\rm{.}}$. The measurements were compared with simulations, which were done based on the known set of levels from a thulium atom. The simulations are in good agreement with experimental results. In addition, losses of atoms from the dipole trap were measured for different trap configurations and compared to the calculated imaginary part of vector and tensor polarizabilities.

Expansion dynamics of a spherical Bose–Einstein condensate**Project supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2016YFA0301503), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11674358, 11434015, and 11474315), and Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. YJKYYQ20170025).

We experimentally and theoretically observe the expansion behaviors of a spherical Bose–Einstein condensate. A rubidium condensate is produced in an isotropic optical dipole trap with an asphericity of 0.037. We measure the variation of the condensate size in the expansion process after switching off the trap. The free expansion of the condensate is isotropic, which is different from that of the condensate usually produced in the anisotropic trap. We derive an analytic solution of the expansion behavior based on the spherical symmetry, allowing a quantitative comparison with the experimental measurement. The interaction energy of the condensate is gradually converted into the kinetic energy during the expansion and after a long time the kinetic energy saturates at a constant value. We obtain the interaction energy of the condensate in the trap by probing the long-time expansion velocity, which agrees with the theoretical calculation. This work paves a way to explore novel quantum states of ultracold gases with the spherical symmetry.

Measurement of S-Wave Scattering Length between 6Li and 88Sr Atoms Using Interspecies Thermalization in an Optical Dipole Trap**Supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China under Grant Nos 2018YFA0306503 and 2018YFA0306504, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos 91636213, 91736311, 11574177, 91836302 and 11654001.

We report the creation of the first mixture of 6Li and 88Sr atoms in an optical dipole trap. Using this mixture, a measurement of the interspecies thermalization process is carried out and the previously unknown interspecies s-wave scattering length between 6Li and 88Sr atoms is extracted to be with a0 being the Bohr radius from the rate of interspecies thermalization.

Two-photon photoassociation spectroscopy of the Σ+2 YbLi molecular ground state

We report on measurements of the binding energies of several weakly bound vibrational states of the paramagnetic $^{174}$Yb$^{6}$Li molecule in the electronic ground state using two-photon spectroscopy in an ultracold atomic mixture confined in an optical dipole trap. We theoretically analyze the experimental spectrum to obtain an accurate description of the long-range potential of the ground state molecule. Based on the measured binding energies, we arrive at an improved value of the interspecies $s$-wave scattering length $a_{s0}=30$ $a_0$. Employing coherent two-photon spectroscopy we also observe the creation of ''dark'' atom-molecule superposition states in the heteronuclear Yb-Li system. This work is an important step towards the efficient production of ultracold YbLi molecules via association from an ultracold atomic mixture.

Integrated atomic quantum technologies in demanding environments: development and qualification of miniaturized optical setups and integration technologies for UHV and space operation

Employing quantum sensors in field or in space implies demanding requirements on the used components and integration technologies. Within our work on compact atomic sensors, we develop miniaturized, ultra-stable optical setups for optical cooling and trapping of cold atomic gases on atom chips. Besides challenging demands on alignment precision and thermo-mechanical durability, we specifically address ultra-high vacuum (UHV) compatibility of our adhesive integration technology and the assembled optical components. A prototype of an UHV-compatible, crossed beam optical dipole trap at 1064 nm for application within a cold rubidium atomic quantum sensor currently in development at the Joint Lab Integrated Quantum Sensors at Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, Leibniz-Institut fur Hochstfrequenztechnik is described. We describe the design and first qualification efforts on adhesive micro-integration technologies. These tests are conducted in application-relevant geometries and material combinations common for micro-integrated optical setups. Adhesive aging will be investigated by thermal cycling and radiation exposure. For vacuum compatibility testing, a versatile UHV testing system for samples up to $$65\times 65\,\text{mm}^2$$ footprint is currently being set up, enabling residual gas analysis, temperature cycling up to $$200\,^{\circ }\text{C}$$ and measurement of total gas rates down to expected $$5\times 10^{-10}\,\text{mbar}\,\text{l/s}$$ at a base pressure of $$10^{-11}\,\text{mbar}$$, exceeding the common ASTM E595 test.

Direct Laser Cooling to Bose-Einstein Condensation in a Dipole Trap.

We present a method for producing three-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensates using only laser cooling. The phase transition to condensation is crossed with 2.5×10^{4} ^{87}Rb atoms at a temperature of T_{c}=0.6 μK after 1.4s of cooling. Atoms are trapped in a crossed optical dipole trap and cooled using Raman cooling with far-off-resonant optical pumping light to reduce atom loss and heating. The achieved temperatures are well below the effective recoil temperature. We find that during the final cooling stage at atomic densities above 10^{14} cm^{-3}, careful tuning of trap depth and optical-pumping rate is necessary to evade heating and loss mechanisms. The method may enable the fast production of quantum degenerate gases in a variety of systems including fermions.