Atomic transport dynamics in crossed optical dipole trap

We study the dynamical evolution of cold atoms in crossed optical dipole trap theoretically and experimentally. The atomic transport process is accompanied by two competitive kinds of physical mechanics, atomic loading and atomic loss.The loading process normally is negligible in the evaporative cooling experiment on the ground, while it is significant in preparation of ultra-cold atoms in the space station. Normally, the atomic loading process is much weaker than the atomic loss process, and the atomic number in the central region of the trap decreases monotonically, as reported in previous research. However, when the atomic loading process is comparable to the atomic loss process, the atomic number in the central region of the trap will initially increase to a maximum value and then slowly decrease, and we have observed the phenomenon first. The increase of atomic number in the central region of the trap shows the presence of the loading process, and this will be significant especially under microgravity conditions. We build a theoretical model to analyze the competitive relationship, which coincides with the experimental results well. Furthermore, we have also given the predicted evolutionary behaviors under different conditions. This research provides a solid foundation for further understanding of the atomic transport process in traps. The analysis of loading process is of significant importance for preparation of ultra-cold atoms in a crossed optical dipole trap under microgravity conditions.

Optimal preparation of Bose and Fermi atomic gas mixtures of ^(87)Rb and ^(40)K in a crossed optical dipole trap

We report on the optimal production of the Bose and Fermi mixtures with ^(87) Rb and ^(40)K in a crossed optical dipole trap(ODT).We measure the atomic number and lifetime of the mixtures in combination of the spin state |F=9/2,m_(F)=9/2> of^(40)K and |1,1>of ^(87) Rb in the ODT,which is larger and longer compared with the combination of the spin state |9/2,9/2> of^(40)K and 12,2) of ^(87)Rb in the ODT.We observe the atomic numbers of ^(87)Rb and ^(40)K shown in each stage of the sympathetic cooling process while gradually reducing the depth of the optical trap.By optimizing the relative loading time of atomic mixtures in the MOT,we obtain the large atomic number of ^(40)K(~6 ×10^(6)) or the mixtures of atoms with an equal number(~1.6 × 10^(6)) at the end of evaporative cooling in the ODT.We experimentally investigate the evaporative cooling in an enlarged volume of the ODT via adding a third laser beam to the crossed ODT and found that more atoms(8 × 10^(6)) and higher degeneracy(T/T_(F)=0.25) of Fermi gases are obtained.The ultracold atomic gas mixtures pave the way to explore phenomena such as few-body collisions and the Bose-Fermi Hubbard model,as well as for creating ground-state molecules of ^(87)Rb^(40)K.

Single atoms transferring between a magneto-optical trap and a far-off-resonance optical dipole trap

Based on our work on single cesium atoms trapped in a large-magnetic-gradient vapour-cell magneto-optical trap （MOT）, the signal-to-noise ratio （SNR） is remarkably improved. Also a far-off-resonance optical dipole trap （FORT） formed by a strongly-focused 1064 nm single frequency Nd：YVO4 laser beam is introduced. One cesium atom is prepared in the MOT, and then it can transfer successfully between the MOT and the FORT which is overlapped with the MOT. Utilizing the effective transfer, the lifetime of single atoms trapped in the FORT is measured to be 6.9± 0.3 s. Thus we provide a system where the atomic qubit can be coherently manipulated.

Measurement of S-Wave Scattering Length between 6Li and 88Sr Atoms Using Interspecies Thermalization in an Optical Dipole Trap

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 |a6 Li-88 Sr|=(380-100^+160)a0 with a0 being the Bohr radius from the rate of interspecies thermalization.

Excessive levitation for the efficient loading of large-volume optical dipole traps

We study the excessive levitation effect in the magnetically levitated loading process of ultracohl Cs atoms into a large-volume crossed optical dipole trap. We analyze the motion of atoms with a non-zero combined gravito-magnetic force during the loading, where the magnetically levitated force catches up with and surpasses the gravity. We present the theoretical variations of both acceleration and velocity with levitation time and magnetic field gradient. We measure the evolution of the number of trapped atoms with the excessive levitation time at different magnetic field gradients. The dependence of the number of atoms on the magnetic field gradient is also measured for different excessive levitation times. The theoretical analysis shows reasonable agreement with the experimental results. Our investigation illustrates that the excessive levitation can be used to reduce the heating effect of atoms in the magnetically levitated loading process, and to improve the loading rate of a large-volume optical dipole trap.

Interference properties of a trapped atom interferometer in two asymmetric optical dipole traps

We investigate interference properties of a trapped atom interferometer where two symmetric optical dipole traps(ODTs)act as the atomic wave-packets splitter and combiner with internal state labelling.After the preparation of initial superposition states,the atomic wave-packet is adiabatically split and moves into two spatially separate asymmetric ODTs.The atomic wave-packets in two ODTs are then adiabatically recombined after a duration of free evolving in traps,completing the interference cycle of this atom interferometer.We show that the interferogram exhibits a series of periodic revivals in interference visibility.Furthermore,the revival period decreases as the asymmetry of two dipole potentials increases.By introducing an echo sequence to the interferometer,we show that while the echo effect is not influenced by the asymmetry of the two ODTs,the onset of periodic revivals changes by the echo sequence.Our study provides an effective method to cancel or compensate the phase shift caused by position and time correlated force.

Efficient loading of ultracold sodium atoms in an optical dipole trap from a high power fiber laser

We report on a research of the loading of ultracold sodium atoms in an optical dipole trap,generated by two beams from a high power fiber laser.The effects of optical trap light power on atomic number,temperature and phase space density are experimentally investigated.A simple theory is proposed and it is in good accordance with the experimental results of the loaded atomic numbers.In a general estimation,an optimal value for each beam with a power of 9 W from the fiber laser is achieved.Our results provide a further understanding of the loading process of optical dipole trap and laid the foundation for generation of a sodium Bose–Einstein condensation with an optical dipole trap.

Production of Degenerate Fermi Gases of ~6Li Atoms in an Optical Dipole Trap

We report the experimental production of degenerate Fermi gases of 6 Li atoms in an optical dipole trap.The gray-molasses technique is carried out to decrease the atomic temperature to 57 μK,which facilitates the efficient loading of cold atoms into the optical dipole trap.The Fermi degeneracy is achieved by evaporative cooling of a two-spin mixture of ~6 Li atoms on the Feshbach resonance.The degenerate atom number per spin is 3.5×10^(4),and the reduced temperature T/T_F is as low as 0.1,where T_F is the Fermi temperature of the non-interacting Fermi gas.We also observe the anisotropic expansion of the atom cloud in the strongly interacting regime.

Trapping and Cooling of Single Atoms in an Optical Microcavity by a Magic-Wavelength Dipole Trap

We present trapping and cooling of single cesium atoms inside a microcavity by means of an intracavity far-off- resonance trap （FORT）. By the ＇magic＇ wavelength FORT, we achieve state-insensitive single-atom trapping and cooling in a microeavity. The cavity transmission of the probe beam strongly coupled to single atoms enables us to continuously observe the intracavity atom trapping. The average atomic localization time inside the bright FORT is about 7ms by introducing cavity cooling with appropriate detuning. This experiment presents great potential in coherent state manipulation for strongly coupled atom photon systems in the context of cavity quantum electrodynamics.

Generation of sub-half-wavelength micro-optical traps by dichroic evanescent standing waves

The bi-dimensional optical lattices formed by several sets of laser evanescent standing waves propagating at the surface of a dielectric prism are investigated. The characteristics of the optical traps including their depths and the sizes are analysed. It is shown that the micro-optical lattice with a sub-half-wavelength size can be achieved by the interference of the selected evanescent waves. The scheme together with the recently developed atomic chip may be used for atomic quantum manipulation.

Extending the trapping lifetime of single atom in a microscopic far-off-resonance optical dipole trap

In our experiment, a single cesium atom prepared in a large-magnetic-gradient magneto optical trap （MOT） can be efficiently transferred into a 1064-nm far-off-resonance microscopic optical dipole trap （FORT）. The efficient transfer of the single atom between the two traps is used to determine the trapping lifetime and the effective temperature of the single atom in FORT. The typical trapping lifetime has been improved from ~ 6.9 s to ~ 130 s by decreasing the background pressure from 1 × 10^-10 Torr to ~ 2 × 10^-11 Torr and applying one-shot 10-ms laser cooling phase. We also theoretically investigate the dependence of trapping lifetimes of a single atom in a FORT on trap parameters based on the FORT beam＇s intensity noise induced heating. Numerical simulations show that the heating depends on the FORT beam＇s waist size and the trap depth. The trapping time can be predicted based on effective temperature measurement of a single atom in the FORT and the intensity noise spectra of the FORT beam. These experimental results are found to be in agreement with the predictions of the heating model.

Characterizing optical dipole trap via fluorescence of trapped cesium atoms

Optical dipole trap(ODT)is becoming an important tool of manipulating neu-tral atoms.In this paper ODT is realized with a far-off resonant laser beam strongly fo-cused in the magneto-optical trap(MOT)of cesium atoms.The light shift is measured by simply monitoring the fluorescence of the atoms in the magneto-optical trap and the opti-cal dipole trap simultaneously.The advantages of our experimental scheme are discussed,and the effect of the beam waist and power on the potential of dipole trap as well as heating rate is analyzed.

Efficient fluorescence detection of a single neutral atom with low background in a microscopic optical dipole trap

A single cesium atom is trapped in a far-off-resonance optical dipole trap （FORT） from the magneto-optical trap （MOT） and directly imaged by using a charge-coupled device （CCD） camera. The binary single-atom steps and photon anti-bunching are observed by a photon-counting-based HBT system using fluorescence light. The average atom dwelling time in the FORT is about 9 s. To reduce the background noise in the detection procedure we employ a weak probe laser tuned to the D1 line to il- lurninate the single atom from the direction perpendicular to the large-numerical-aperture collimation system. The second or- der degree of coherence g（2）（r）=0.12_＋0.02 is obtained directly from the fluorescence light of the single atom without deducting the background. The background light has been suppressed to 10 counts per 50 ms, which is much lower compared with the reported results. The measured g（2）（r） is in good agreement with theoretical analysis. The system provides a simple and effi- cient method to manipulate and measure single neutral atoms, and opens a way to create an efficient controlled single-photon source.

Production of ^(87)Rb Bose Einstein condensates in a hybrid trap

We report a rapid evaporative cooling method using a hybrid trap which is composed of a quadrupole magnetic trap and a one-beam optical dipole trap. It contains two kinds of evaporative coolings to reach the quantum degeneracy： initial radio-frequency （RF） enforced evaporative cooling in the quadrupole magnetic trap and further runaway evaporative cooling in the optical dipole trap. The hybrid trap does not require a very high power laser such as that in the traditional pure optical trap, but still has a deep trap depth and a large trap volume, and has better optical access than the normal magnetic trap like the quadrupole-Ioffe-configuration （QUIC） cloverleaf trap. A high trap frequency can be easily realized in the hybrid trap to enhance the elastic collision rate and shorten the evaporative cooling time. In our experiment, pure Bose-Einstein condensates （BECs） with about 1 x 105 atoms can be realized in 6 s evaporative cooling in the optical dipole trap.

极化角依赖的铯原子魔术波长光阱理论分析

在对经激光预冷却的原子进行俘获的光学偶极阱中,魔术波长光学偶极阱可以消除所关心的两原子态间跃迁的差分光频移,使得光子在原子态间的跃迁频率与自由空间相同,对于提高实验重复率、减弱原子的退相干具有重要意义,使其在冷原子物理、量子光学、精密测量等领域已成为越来越重要的技术手段.本文基于多能级模型理论计算了耦合铯原子D2线的6S_(1/2)基态和6P_(3/2)激发态对光阱激光波长(800-1000 nm)依赖的动态电极化率,得到了俘获基态和激发态的光阱激光的魔术波长.由于角动量大于0.5的原子态的极化率对极化角非常敏感,本文以线偏振光阱激光为例,讨论并分析了魔术波长与相应的魔术极化率对极化角的依赖关系,得到了魔术极化角为54.7°以及该角度下的魔术波长分别为886.4315 nm与934.0641 nm,进一步分析了这两种情况下魔术条件的鲁棒性与实验操作的可行性.

采用强聚焦光学系统实现原子操控的一种方案

采用光学手段操控原子是研究原子之间纠缠、控制其相互作用的重要途径,也是量子信息研究中的重要课题。本文基于目前的实验系统,提出了利用由三组驻波场组成的强聚焦光学系统产生间距可控的光学晶格,并在此基础上实现多光学偶极阱的一种方案。我们系统地讨论了两驻波场与第三驻波场的夹角和相对位相对光学阱分布的影响,指出在此基础上可以在一定程度上通过微光学阱实现单个原子的操控并实现偶极阱间距的可控调节。该结果对研究光学晶格中的BEC之间的作用、原子干涉以及原子之间偶极-偶极作用等具有重要意义。

光梯度力与激光捕获

从电偶极子在非均匀电磁场中所受梯度力出发,用光的电磁理论和电解质小球的电偶极子模型,论述了介质小球在光场中所受光梯度力与光强梯度成正比,并以此来定量说明激光对介质小球的捕获原理.

基于微型光学偶极阱中单个铯原子俘获与操控的852 nm触发式单光子源

基于单原子操控的单光子源具有窄带宽、可与同类原子吸收线匹配、基本不受外界环境因素的影响等特点,在量子光学基本问题研究及量子信息处理等方面具有重要价值.本文研究了强聚焦1064 nm基模高斯光束形成的光学偶极阱中铯原子6S_(1/2)|F_g=4,mF=+4>-6P_(3/2)|F_e=5,m_F=+5>循环跃迁的光频移,并在实验上进行了测量.基于共振脉冲光激发俘获在远失谐微型光学偶极阱中的单个铯原子,实验演示了10 MHz重复频率的触发式852 nm单光子源.采用基于单光子探测器的Hanbry Brown-Twiss实验系统,对单光子源的二阶相干度进行了测量,零延时处符合计数值为0.09,实验显示单光子源呈现显著的光子反群聚特性.

集成光子-原子芯片的研究进展(特邀)

近年来,微纳光学器件和集成光学芯片的研究取得了激动人心的进展,推动着光学相关的各个研究领域与集成光学技术的结合。同时,原子物理学也得到了巨大发展,并应用于传感、计时、寻找新的物理原理和新兴的量子信息科学中。得益于光学与原子物理的紧密关系,集成光子-原子芯片已逐步发展为一个新的研究方向,既是便捷的原子系统又是可集成的量子信息处理平台,兼具两个研究领域的优势。本文综述了该方向的发展概况,主要介绍基于微纳光学结构实现对空间光场的调控,从而实现集成化的原子冷却和探测技术,以及基于微纳光学结构的近场实现增强的原子囚禁和原子与光子的相互作用。重点介绍基于集成芯片上的微纳光子结构与原子的相互作用,特别是微腔,基于其稳定的结构和增强的局域场,有望实现稳定、高效和可扩展的光子-原子混合量子芯片。

光学偶极阱中铷原子5S_(1/2)及5P_(3/2)态的AC Stark频移

基于二能级模型和多能级模型,分析计算了由强聚焦高斯光束形成的光学偶极阱中87Rb原子5S1/2态和5P3/2态的AC Stark频移。基于多能级模型,针对在852 nm高斯激光束强聚焦所形成的87Rb原子远失谐光学偶极阱中进行偏振梯度冷却的情形,计算了冷却循环跃迁(5S1/2F=2-5P3/2F′=3)的频移量,结果显示频移对molasses冷却过程产生了重要的影响。同时,计算了5S1/2|F=2,mF=±2〉态和5P3/2|F′=3,mF=±3〉态的AC Stark频移随光学偶极阱激光波长的变化情况,发现在红失谐情况下,对于87Rb原子5S1/2-5P3/2态跃迁不存在魔数波长。