Quantum phases of low-dimensional ultra-cold atom systems

Science.gov (United States)

Mathey, Ludwig G.

2007-06-01

In this thesis we derive and explore the quantum phases of various types of ultracold atom systems, as well as their experimental signature. The technology of cooling, trapping and manipulating ultracold atoms has advanced in an amazing fashion during the last decade, which has led to the study of many-body effects of atomic ensembles. We first consider atomic mixtures in one dimension, which show a rich structure of phases, using a Luttinger liquid description. We then go on to consider how noise correlations in time-of-flight images of one-dimensional systems can be used to draw conclusions about the many-body state that they're in. Thirdly, we consider the quantum phases of Bose-Fermi mixtures in optical lattices, either square lattices or triangular lattices, using the powerful method of functional renormalization group analysis. Lastly, we study the phases of two-coupled quasi-superfluids in two dimensions, which shows unusual phases, and which could be used to realize the Kibble-Zurek mechanism, i.e. the generation of topological defects by ramping across a phase transition, first proposed in the context of an early universe scenario.

Coupling ultracold atoms to a superconducting coplanar waveguide resonator

OpenAIRE

Hattermann, H.; Bothner, D.; Ley, L. Y.; Ferdinand, B.; Wiedmaier, D.; Sárkány, L.; Kleiner, R.; Koelle, D.; Fortágh, J.

2017-01-01

We demonstrate coupling of magnetically trapped ultracold $^87$Rb ground state atoms to a coherently driven superconducting coplanar resonator on an integrated atom chip. We measure the microwave field strength in the cavity through observation of the AC shift of the hyperfine transition frequency when the cavity is driven off-resonance from the atomic transition. The measured shifts are used to reconstruct the field in the resonator, in close agreement with transmission measurements of the c...

Quantum simulation of conductivity plateaux and fractional quantum Hall effect using ultracold atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barberán, Nuria; García-March, Miguel Angel; Taron, Josep; Dagnino, Daniel; Trombettoni, Andrea; Lewenstein, Maciej

2015-01-01

We analyze the role of impurities in the fractional quantum Hall effect using a highly controllable system of ultracold atoms. We investigate the mechanism responsible for the formation of plateaux in the resistivity/conductivity as a function of the applied magnetic field in the lowest Landau level regime. To this aim, we consider an impurity immersed in a small cloud of an ultracold quantum Bose gas subjected to an artificial magnetic field. We consider scenarios corresponding to experimentally realistic systems with gauge fields induced by rotation of the trapping parabolic potential. Systems of this kind are adequate to simulate quantum Hall effects in ultracold atom setups. We use exact diagonalization for few atoms and to emulate transport equations, we analyze the time evolution of the system under a periodic perturbation. We provide a theoretical proposal to detect the up-to-now elusive presence of strongly correlated states related to fractional filling factors in the context of ultracold atoms. We analyze the conditions under which these strongly correlated states are associated with the presence of the resistivity/conductivity plateaux. Our main result is the presence of a plateau in a region, where the transfer between localized and non-localized particles takes place, as a necessary condition to maintain a constant value of the resistivity/conductivity as the magnetic field increases. (paper)

Non-destructive Faraday imaging of dynamically controlled ultracold atoms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gajdacz, Miroslav; Pedersen, Poul Lindholm; Mørch, Troels

2013-01-01

We describe an easily implementable method for non-destructive measurements of ultracold atomic clouds based on dark field imaging of spatially resolved Faraday rotation. The signal-to-noise ratio is analyzed theoretically and, in the absence of experimental imperfections, the sensitivity limit...

A hybrid system of a membrane oscillator coupled to ultracold atoms

Science.gov (United States)

Kampschulte, Tobias

2015-05-01

The control over micro- and nanomechanical oscillators has recently made impressive progress. First experiments demonstrated ground-state cooling and single-phonon control of high-frequency oscillators using cryogenic cooling and techniques of cavity optomechanics. Coupling engineered mechanical structures to microscopic quantum system with good coherence properties offers new possibilities for quantum control of mechanical vibrations, precision sensing and quantum-level signal transduction. Ultracold atoms are an attractive choice for such hybrid systems: Mechanical can either be coupled to the motional state of trapped atoms, which can routinely be ground-state cooled, or to the internal states, for which a toolbox of coherent manipulation and detection exists. Furthermore, atomic collective states with non-classical properties can be exploited to infer the mechanical motion with reduced quantum noise. Here we use trapped ultracold atoms to sympathetically cool the fundamental vibrational mode of a Si3N4 membrane. The coupling of membrane and atomic motion is mediated by laser light over a macroscopic distance and enhanced by an optical cavity around the membrane. The observed cooling of the membrane from room temperature to 650 +/- 230 mK shows that our hybrid mechanical-atomic system operates at a large cooperativity. Our scheme could provide ground-state cooling and quantum control of low-frequency oscillators such as levitated nanoparticles, in a regime where purely optomechanical techniques cannot reach the ground state. Furthermore, we will present a scheme where an optomechanical system is coupled to internal states of ultracold atoms. The mechanical motion is translated into a polarization rotation which drives Raman transitions between atomic ground states. Compared to the motional-state coupling, the new scheme enables to couple atoms to high-frequency structures such as optomechanical crystals.

Floquet Engineering of Correlated Tunneling in the Bose-Hubbard Model with Ultracold Atoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Meinert, F; Mark, M J; Lauber, K; Daley, A J; Nägerl, H-C

2016-05-20

We report on the experimental implementation of tunable occupation-dependent tunneling in a Bose-Hubbard system of ultracold atoms via time-periodic modulation of the on-site interaction energy. The tunneling rate is inferred from a time-resolved measurement of the lattice site occupation after a quantum quench. We demonstrate coherent control of the tunneling dynamics in the correlated many-body system, including full suppression of tunneling as predicted within the framework of Floquet theory. We find that the tunneling rate explicitly depends on the atom number difference in neighboring lattice sites. Our results may open up ways to realize artificial gauge fields that feature density dependence with ultracold atoms.

Extended Hubbard models for ultracold atoms in optical lattices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Juergensen, Ole

2015-01-01

In this thesis, the phase diagrams and dynamics of various extended Hubbard models for ultracold atoms in optical lattices are studied. Hubbard models are the primary description for many interacting particles in periodic potentials with the paramount example of the electrons in solids. The very same models describe the behavior of ultracold quantum gases trapped in the periodic potentials generated by interfering beams of laser light. These optical lattices provide an unprecedented access to the fundamentals of the many-particle physics that govern the properties of solid-state materials. They can be used to simulate solid-state systems and validate the approximations and simplifications made in theoretical models. This thesis revisits the numerous approximations underlying the standard Hubbard models with special regard to optical lattice experiments. The incorporation of the interaction between particles on adjacent lattice sites leads to extended Hubbard models. Offsite interactions have a strong influence on the phase boundaries and can give rise to novel correlated quantum phases. The extended models are studied with the numerical methods of exact diagonalization and time evolution, a cluster Gutzwiller approximation, as well as with the strong-coupling expansion approach. In total, this thesis demonstrates the high relevance of beyond-Hubbard processes for ultracold atoms in optical lattices. Extended Hubbard models can be employed to tackle unexplained problems of solid-state physics as well as enter previously inaccessible regimes.

Extended Hubbard models for ultracold atoms in optical lattices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Juergensen, Ole

2015-06-05

In this thesis, the phase diagrams and dynamics of various extended Hubbard models for ultracold atoms in optical lattices are studied. Hubbard models are the primary description for many interacting particles in periodic potentials with the paramount example of the electrons in solids. The very same models describe the behavior of ultracold quantum gases trapped in the periodic potentials generated by interfering beams of laser light. These optical lattices provide an unprecedented access to the fundamentals of the many-particle physics that govern the properties of solid-state materials. They can be used to simulate solid-state systems and validate the approximations and simplifications made in theoretical models. This thesis revisits the numerous approximations underlying the standard Hubbard models with special regard to optical lattice experiments. The incorporation of the interaction between particles on adjacent lattice sites leads to extended Hubbard models. Offsite interactions have a strong influence on the phase boundaries and can give rise to novel correlated quantum phases. The extended models are studied with the numerical methods of exact diagonalization and time evolution, a cluster Gutzwiller approximation, as well as with the strong-coupling expansion approach. In total, this thesis demonstrates the high relevance of beyond-Hubbard processes for ultracold atoms in optical lattices. Extended Hubbard models can be employed to tackle unexplained problems of solid-state physics as well as enter previously inaccessible regimes.

Microscopic description and simulation of ultracold atoms in optical resonators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niedenzu, W.

2012-01-01

Ultracold atoms in optical resonators are an ideal system to investigate the full quantum regime of light-matter interaction. Microscopic insight into the underlying processes can nowadays easily be obtained from numerical calculations, e.g. with Monte Carlo wave function simulations. In the first part we discuss cold atoms in ring resonators, where the modified boundary conditions significantly alter the dynamics as compared to the standing-wave case. Quantum jumps induce momentum correlations and entanglement between the particles. We observe strong non-classical motional correlations, cooling and entanglement heralded by single photon measurements. For deeply trapped particles the complex system Hamiltonian can be mapped onto a generic optomechanical model, allowing for analytical microscopic insight into the dynamics. The rates of cavity-mediated correlated heating and cooling processes are obtained by adiabatically eliminating the cavity field from the dynamics and can be directly related to the steady-state momentum correlation coefficient. The second part is devoted to cooling and self-organisation of a cold gas in a transversally pumped standing-wave resonator, in which the atoms are directly illuminated by a laser beam. Above a certain critical laser intensity the atoms order in a specific pattern, maximising light scattering into the cavity. The particles thus create and sustain their own trap. We derive a nonlinear Fokker-Planck equation for the one-particle distribution function describing the gas dynamics below and above threshold. This kinetic theory predicts dissipation-induced self-organisation and q-Gaussian velocity distributions in steady state. (author)

Dressed molecules in resonantly interacting ultracold atomic Fermi gases

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Falco, G.M.; Stoof, H.T.C.

2007-01-01

We present a detailed analysis of the two-channel atom-molecule effective Hamiltonian for an ultracold two-component homogeneous Fermi gas interacting near a Feshbach resonance. We particularly focus on the two-body and many-body properties of the dressed molecules in such a gas. An exact result

Dipole-dipole interactions in a hot atomic vapor and in an ultracold gas of Rydberg atoms

Science.gov (United States)

Sautenkov, V. A.; Saakyan, S. A.; Bronin, S. Ya; Klyarfeld, A. B.; Zelener, B. B.; Zelener, B. V.

2018-01-01

In our paper ideal and non-ideal gas media of neutral atoms are analyzed. The first we discuss a dipole broadening of atomic transitions in excited dilute and dense metal vapors. Then the theoretical studies of the dipole-dipole interactions in dense ultracold gas of Rydberg atoms are considered. Possible future experiments on a base of our experimental arrangement are suggested.

Ultracold atoms and the Functional Renormalization Group

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boettcher, Igor; Pawlowski, Jan M.; Diehl, Sebastian

2012-01-01

We give a self-contained introduction to the physics of ultracold atoms using functional integral techniques. Based on a consideration of the relevant length scales, we derive the universal effective low energy Hamiltonian describing ultracold alkali atoms. We then introduce the concept of the effective action, which generalizes the classical action principle to full quantum status and provides an intuitive and versatile tool for practical calculations. This framework is applied to weakly interacting degenerate bosons and fermions in the spatial continuum. In particular, we discuss the related BEC and BCS quantum condensation mechanisms. We then turn to the BCS-BEC crossover, which interpolates between both phenomena, and which is realized experimentally in the vicinity of a Feshbach resonance. For its description, we introduce the Functional Renormalization Group approach. After a general discussion of the method in the cold atoms context, we present a detailed and pedagogical application to the crossover problem. This not only provides the physical mechanism underlying this phenomenon. More generally, it also reveals how the renormalization group can be used as a tool to capture physics at all scales, from few-body scattering on microscopic scales, through the finite temperature phase diagram governed by many-body length scales, up to critical phenomena dictating long distance physics at the phase transition. The presentation aims to equip students at the beginning PhD level with knowledge on key physical phenomena and flexible tools for their description, and should enable to embark upon practical calculations in this field.

Quantum information entropies of ultracold atomic gases in a ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

bosonic systems and a ≃ 1.982 and b = 1 for ideal fermionic systems. These results obey the entropic uncertainty relation given by Beckner, Bialynicki-Birula and Myceilski. Keywords. Ultracold atomic gases; information entropy; foundations of quantum mechanics. PACS Nos 67.85.−d; 89.70.Cf; 03.65.Ta. 1. Introduction.

Superexchange-mediated magnetization dynamics with ultracold alkaline-earth atoms in an optical lattice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu Shaobing; Qian Jun; Wang Yuzhu

2017-01-01

Superexchange and inter-orbital spin-exchange interactions are key ingredients for understanding (orbital) quantum magnetism in strongly correlated systems and have been realized in ultracold atomic gases. Here we study the spin dynamics of ultracold alkaline-earth atoms in an optical lattice when the two exchange interactions coexist. In the superexchange interaction dominating regime, we find that the time-resolved spin imbalance shows a remarkable modulated oscillation, which can be attributed to the interplay between local and nonlocal quantum mechanical exchange mechanisms. Moreover, the filling of the long-lived excited atoms affects the collapse and revival of the magnetization dynamics. These observations can be realized in state-dependent optical lattices combined with the state-of-the-art advances in optical lattice clock spectroscopy. (paper)

Individual Tracer Atoms in an Ultracold Dilute Gas

Science.gov (United States)

Hohmann, Michael; Kindermann, Farina; Lausch, Tobias; Mayer, Daniel; Schmidt, Felix; Lutz, Eric; Widera, Artur

2017-06-01

We report on the experimental investigation of individual Cs atoms impinging on a dilute cloud of ultracold Rb atoms with variable density. We study the relaxation of the initial nonthermal state and detect the effect of single collisions which has so far eluded observation. We show that, after few collisions, the measured spatial distribution of the tracer atoms is correctly described by a Langevin equation with a velocity-dependent friction coefficient, over a large range of Knudsen numbers. Our results extend the simple and effective Langevin treatment to the realm of light particles in dilute gases. The experimental technique developed opens up the microscopic exploration of a novel regime of diffusion at the level of individual collisions.

Permanent magnetic lattices for ultracold atoms and quantum degenerate gases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghanbari, Saeed; Kieu, Tien D; Sidorov, Andrei; Hannaford, Peter

2006-01-01

We propose the use of periodic arrays of permanent magnetic films for producing magnetic lattices of microtraps for confining, manipulating and controlling small clouds of ultracold atoms and quantum degenerate gases. Using analytical expressions and numerical calculations we show that periodic arrays of magnetic films can produce one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) magnetic lattices with non-zero potential minima, allowing ultracold atoms to be trapped without losses due to spin flips. In particular, we show that two crossed layers of periodic arrays of parallel rectangular magnets plus bias fields, or a single layer of periodic arrays of square-shaped magnets with three different thicknesses plus bias fields, can produce 2D magnetic lattices of microtraps having non-zero potential minima and controllable trap depth. For arrays with micron-scale periodicity, the magnetic microtraps can have very large trap depths (∼0.5 mK for the realistic parameters chosen for the 2D lattice) and very tight confinement

Scattering amplitude of ultracold atoms near the p-wave magnetic Feshbach resonance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Peng; Naidon, Pascal; Ueda, Masahito

2010-01-01

Most of the current theories on the p-wave superfluid in cold atomic gases are based on the effective-range theory for the two-body scattering, where the low-energy p-wave scattering amplitude f 1 (k) is given by f 1 (k)=-1/[ik+1/(Vk 2 )+1/R]. Here k is the incident momentum, V and R are the k-independent scattering volume and effective range, respectively. However, due to the long-range nature of the van der Waals interaction between two colliding ultracold atoms, the p-wave scattering amplitude of the two atoms is not described by the effective-range theory [J. Math. Phys. 4, 54 (1963); Phys. Rev. A 58, 4222 (1998)]. In this paper we provide an explicit calculation for the p-wave scattering of two ultracold atoms near the p-wave magnetic Feshbach resonance. We show that in this case the low-energy p-wave scattering amplitude f 1 (k)=-1/[ik+1/(V eff k 2 )+1/(S eff k)+1/R eff ] where V eff , S eff , and R eff are k-dependent parameters. Based on this result, we identify sufficient conditions for the effective-range theory to be a good approximation of the exact scattering amplitude. Using these conditions we show that the effective-range theory is a good approximation for the p-wave scattering in the ultracold gases of 6 Li and 40 K when the scattering volume is enhanced by the resonance.

Formation of Ultracold Molecules

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cote, Robin [Univ. of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (United States)

2016-01-28

Advances in our ability to slow down and cool atoms and molecules to ultracold temperatures have paved the way to a revolution in basic research on molecules. Ultracold molecules are sensitive of very weak interactions, even when separated by large distances, which allow studies of the effect of those interactions on the behavior of molecules. In this program, we have explored ways to form ultracold molecules starting from pairs of atoms that have already reached the ultracold regime. We devised methods that enhance the efficiency of ultracold molecule production, for example by tuning external magnetic fields and using appropriate laser excitations. We also investigates the properties of those ultracold molecules, especially their de-excitation into stable molecules. We studied the possibility of creating new classes of ultra-long range molecules, named macrodimers, thousand times more extended than regular molecules. Again, such objects are possible because ultra low temperatures prevent their breakup by collision. Finally, we carried out calculations on how chemical reactions are affected and modified at ultracold temperatures. Normally, reactions become less effective as the temperature decreases, but at ultracold temperatures, they can become very effective. We studied this counter-intuitive behavior for benchmark chemical reactions involving molecular hydrogen.

Effects of mode profile on tunneling and traversal of ultracold atoms through vacuum-induced potentials

Science.gov (United States)

Badshah, Fazal; Irfan, Muhammad; Qamar, Sajid; Qamar, Shahid

2016-04-01

We consider the resonant interaction of an ultracold two-level atom with an electromagnetic field inside a high-Q micromaser cavity. In particular, we study the tunneling and traversal of ultracold atoms through vacuum-induced potentials for secant hyperbolic square and sinusoidal cavity mode functions. The phase time which may be considered as an appropriate measure of the time required for the atoms to cross the cavity, significantly modifies with the change of cavity mode profile. For example, switching between the sub and superclassical behaviors in phase time can occur due to the mode function. Similarly, negative phase time appears for the transmission of the two-level atoms in both excited and ground states for secant hyperbolic square mode function which is in contrast to the mesa mode case.

Ultracold atoms in optical lattices simulating quantum many-body systems

CERN Document Server

Lewenstein, Maciej; Ahufinger, Verònica

2012-01-01

Quantum computers, though not yet available on the market, will revolutionize the future of information processing. Quantum computers for special purposes like quantum simulators are already within reach. The physics of ultracold atoms, ions and molecules offer unprecedented possibilities of control of quantum many body systems and novel possibilities of applications to quantum information processing and quantum metrology. Particularly fascinating is the possibility of usingultracold atoms in lattices to simulate condensed matter or even high energy physics.This book provides a complete and co

Ultracold atoms in a cavity-mediated double-well system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larson, Jonas; Martikainen, Jani-Petri

2010-01-01

We study ground-state properties and dynamics of a dilute ultracold atomic gas in a double-well potential. The Gaussian barrier separating the two wells derives from the interaction between the atoms and a quantized field of a driven Fabry-Perot cavity. Due to intrinsic atom-field nonlinearity, several interesting phenomena arise which are the focus of this work. For the ground state, there is a critical pumping amplitude in which the atoms self-organize and the intra-cavity-field amplitude drastically increases. In the dynamical analysis, we show that the Josephson oscillations depend strongly on the atomic density and may be greatly suppressed within certain regimes, reminiscent of self-trapping of Bose-Einstein condensates in double-well setups. This pseudo-self-trapping effect is studied within a mean-field treatment valid for large atom numbers. For small numbers of atoms, we consider the analogous many-body problem and demonstrate a collapse-revival structure in the Josephson oscillations.

Few-particle quantum magnetism with ultracold atoms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Murmann, Simon

2015-11-25

This thesis reports on the deterministic preparation of magnetically ordered states in systems of few fermionic atoms. We follow the concept of quantum simulation and use {sup 6}Li atoms in two different hyperfine states to mimic the behavior of electrons in a solidstate system. In a first experiment, we simulate the two-site Hubbard model by using two atoms in an isolated double-well potential. We prepare the two-particle ground state of this model with a fidelity exceeding 90%. By introducing strong repulsive interactions, we are able to realize a pure spin model and describe the energy spectrum with a two-site Heisenberg Hamiltonian. In a second experiment, we realize Heisenberg spin chains of up to four atoms in a single strongly-elongated trapping potential. Here, the atoms self-align along the potential axis due to strong repulsive interactions. We introduce two novel measurement techniques to identify the state of the spin chains and thereby confirm that we can deterministically prepare antiferromagnetic ground-state systems. This constitutes the first observation of quantum magnetism with fermionic atoms that exceeds nearest-neighbor correlations. Both the double-well system and the spin chains can be seen as building blocks of larger ground-state spin systems. Their deterministic preparation therefore opens up a new bottom-up approach to the experimental realization of quantum many-body systems with ultracold atoms.

Measurement of Spectral Functions of Ultracold Atoms in Disordered Potentials

Science.gov (United States)

Volchkov, Valentin V.; Pasek, Michael; Denechaud, Vincent; Mukhtar, Musawwadah; Aspect, Alain; Delande, Dominique; Josse, Vincent

2018-02-01

We report on the measurement of the spectral functions of noninteracting ultracold atoms in a three-dimensional disordered potential resulting from an optical speckle field. Varying the disorder strength by 2 orders of magnitude, we observe the crossover from the "quantum" perturbative regime of low disorder to the "classical" regime at higher disorder strength, and find an excellent agreement with numerical simulations. The method relies on the use of state-dependent disorder and the controlled transfer of atoms to create well-defined energy states. This opens new avenues for experimental investigations of three-dimensional Anderson localization.

First-principles many-body theory for ultra-cold atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drummond, Peter D.; Hu Hui; Liu Xiaji

2010-01-01

Recent breakthroughs in the creation of ultra-cold atoms in the laboratory have ushered in unprecedented changes in physical science. These enormous changes in the coldest temperatures available in the laboratory mean that many novel experiments are possible. There is unprecedented control and simplicity in these novel systems, meaning that quantum many-body theory is now facing severe challenges in quantitatively understanding these new results. We discuss some of the new experiments and recently developed theoretical techniques required to predict the results obtained.

De Haas-van Alphen effect of a two-dimensional ultracold atomic gas

Science.gov (United States)

Farias, B.; Furtado, C.

2016-01-01

In this paper, we show how the ultracold atom analogue of the two-dimensional de Haas-van Alphen effect in electronic condensed matter systems can be induced by optical fields in a neutral atomic system. The interaction between the suitable spatially varying laser fields and tripod-type trapped atoms generates a synthetic magnetic field which leads the particles to organize themselves in Landau levels. Initially, with the atomic gas in a regime of lowest Landau level, we display the oscillatory behaviour of the atomic energy and its derivative with respect to the effective magnetic field (B) as a function of 1/B. Furthermore, we estimate the area of the Fermi circle of the two-dimensional atomic gas.

Predicting scattering properties of ultracold atoms : Adiabatic accumulated phase method and mass scaling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verhaar, B.J.; Kempen, van E.G.M.; Kokkelmans, S.J.J.M.F.

2009-01-01

Ultracold atoms are increasingly used for high-precision experiments that can be utilized to extract accurate scattering properties. This results in a stronger need to improve on the accuracy of interatomic potentials, and in particular the usually rather inaccurate inner-range potentials. A

Scattering resonances of ultracold atoms in confined geometries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saeidian, Shahpoor

2008-01-01

Subject of this thesis is the investigation of the quantum dynamics of ultracold atoms in confined geometries. We discuss the behavior of ground state atoms inside a 3D magnetic quadrupole field. Such atoms in enough weak magnetic fields can be approximately treated as neutral point-like particles. Complementary to the well-known positive energy resonances, we point out the existence of short-lived negative energy resonances. The latter originate from a fundamental symmetry of the underlying Hamiltonian. We drive a mapping of the two branches of the spectrum. Moreover, we analyze atomic hyperfine resonances in a magnetic quadrupole field. This corresponds to the case for which both the hyperfine and Zeeman interaction, are comparable, and should be taken into account. Finally, we develop a general grid method for multichannel scattering of two atoms in a two-dimensional harmonic confinement. With our approach we analyze transverse excitations/deexcitations in the course of the collisional process (distinguishable or identical atoms) including all important partial waves and their couplings due to the broken spherical symmetry. Special attention is paid to suggest a non-trivial extension of the CIRs theory developed so far only for the single-mode regime and zero-energy limit. (orig.)

Scattering resonances of ultracold atoms in confined geometries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saeidian, Shahpoor

2008-06-18

Subject of this thesis is the investigation of the quantum dynamics of ultracold atoms in confined geometries. We discuss the behavior of ground state atoms inside a 3D magnetic quadrupole field. Such atoms in enough weak magnetic fields can be approximately treated as neutral point-like particles. Complementary to the well-known positive energy resonances, we point out the existence of short-lived negative energy resonances. The latter originate from a fundamental symmetry of the underlying Hamiltonian. We drive a mapping of the two branches of the spectrum. Moreover, we analyze atomic hyperfine resonances in a magnetic quadrupole field. This corresponds to the case for which both the hyperfine and Zeeman interaction, are comparable, and should be taken into account. Finally, we develop a general grid method for multichannel scattering of two atoms in a two-dimensional harmonic confinement. With our approach we analyze transverse excitations/deexcitations in the course of the collisional process (distinguishable or identical atoms) including all important partial waves and their couplings due to the broken spherical symmetry. Special attention is paid to suggest a non-trivial extension of the CIRs theory developed so far only for the single-mode regime and zero-energy limit. (orig.)

Numerical methods for atomic quantum gases with applications to Bose-Einstein condensates and to ultracold fermions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Minguzzi, A.; Succi, S.; Toschi, F.; Tosi, M.P.; Vignolo, P.

2004-01-01

The achievement of Bose–Einstein condensation in ultra-cold vapours of alkali atoms has given enormous impulse to the study of dilute atomic gases in condensed quantum states inside magnetic traps and optical lattices. High-purity and easy optical access make them ideal candidates to investigate

Light-induced gauge fields for ultracold atoms

Science.gov (United States)

Goldman, N.; Juzeliūnas, G.; Öhberg, P.; Spielman, I. B.

2014-12-01

Gauge fields are central in our modern understanding of physics at all scales. At the highest energy scales known, the microscopic universe is governed by particles interacting with each other through the exchange of gauge bosons. At the largest length scales, our Universe is ruled by gravity, whose gauge structure suggests the existence of a particle—the graviton—that mediates the gravitational force. At the mesoscopic scale, solid-state systems are subjected to gauge fields of different nature: materials can be immersed in external electromagnetic fields, but they can also feature emerging gauge fields in their low-energy description. In this review, we focus on another kind of gauge field: those engineered in systems of ultracold neutral atoms. In these setups, atoms are suitably coupled to laser fields that generate effective gauge potentials in their description. Neutral atoms ‘feeling’ laser-induced gauge potentials can potentially mimic the behavior of an electron gas subjected to a magnetic field, but also, the interaction of elementary particles with non-Abelian gauge fields. Here, we review different realized and proposed techniques for creating gauge potentials—both Abelian and non-Abelian—in atomic systems and discuss their implication in the context of quantum simulation. While most of these setups concern the realization of background and classical gauge potentials, we conclude with more exotic proposals where these synthetic fields might be made dynamical, in view of simulating interacting gauge theories with cold atoms.

Light-induced gauge fields for ultracold atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goldman, N; Juzeliūnas, G; Öhberg, P; Spielman, I B

2014-01-01

Gauge fields are central in our modern understanding of physics at all scales. At the highest energy scales known, the microscopic universe is governed by particles interacting with each other through the exchange of gauge bosons. At the largest length scales, our Universe is ruled by gravity, whose gauge structure suggests the existence of a particle—the graviton—that mediates the gravitational force. At the mesoscopic scale, solid-state systems are subjected to gauge fields of different nature: materials can be immersed in external electromagnetic fields, but they can also feature emerging gauge fields in their low-energy description. In this review, we focus on another kind of gauge field: those engineered in systems of ultracold neutral atoms. In these setups, atoms are suitably coupled to laser fields that generate effective gauge potentials in their description. Neutral atoms ‘feeling’ laser-induced gauge potentials can potentially mimic the behavior of an electron gas subjected to a magnetic field, but also, the interaction of elementary particles with non-Abelian gauge fields. Here, we review different realized and proposed techniques for creating gauge potentials—both Abelian and non-Abelian—in atomic systems and discuss their implication in the context of quantum simulation. While most of these setups concern the realization of background and classical gauge potentials, we conclude with more exotic proposals where these synthetic fields might be made dynamical, in view of simulating interacting gauge theories with cold atoms. (review article)

Observation of electric quadrupole transitions to Rydberg nd states of ultracold rubidium atoms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tong, D.; Farooqi, S.M.; Kempen, van E.G.M.; Pavlovic, Z.; Stanojevic, J.; Coté, R.; Eyler, E.E.; Gould, P.L.

2009-01-01

We report the observation of dipole-forbidden, but quadrupole-allowed, one-photon transitions to high-Rydberg states in Rb. Using pulsed uv excitation of ultracold atoms in a magneto-optical trap, we excite 5s¿nd transitions over a range of principal quantum numbers n=27–59. Compared to

Sympathetic cooling in a rubidium cesium mixture: Production of ultracold cesium atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haas, M.

2007-01-01

This thesis presents experiments for the production of ultracold rubidium cesium mixture in a magnetic trap. The long-termed aim of the experiment is the study of the interaction of few cesium atoms with a Bose-Einstein condensate of rubidium atoms. Especially by controlled variation of the cesium atom number the transition in the description of the interaction by concepts of the one-particle physics to the description by concepts of the many-particle physics shall be studied. The rubidium atoms are trapped in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) and from there reloaded into a magnetic trap. In this the rubidium atoms are stored in the state vertical stroke f=2,m f =2 right angle of the electronic ground state and evaporatively cooled by means of microwave-induced transitions into the state vertical stroke f=1,m f =1] (microwave cooling). The cesium atoms are also trppaed in a MOT and into the same magnetic trap reloaded, in which they are stored in the state vertical stroke f=4,m f =4 right angle of the electronic ground state together with rubidium. Because of the different hyperfine splitting only rubidium is evaporatively cooled, while cesium is cooled jointly sympathetically - i.e. by theramal contact via elastic collisions with rubidium atoms. The first two chapters contain a description of interatomic interactions in ultracold gases as well as a short summary of theoretical concepts in the description of Bose-Einstein condensates. The chapters 3 and 4 contain a short presentation of the methods applied in the experiment for the production of ultracold gases as well as the experimental arrangement; especially in the framework of this thesis a new coil system has been designed, which offers in view of future experiments additionally optical access for an optical trap. Additionally the fourth chapter contains an extensive description of the experimental cycle, which is applied in order to store rubidium and cesium atoms together into the magnetic trap. The last chapter

Detecting high-density ultracold molecules using atom–molecule collision

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Jun-Ren; Kao, Cheng-Yang; Chen, Hung-Bin; Liu, Yi-Wei

2013-01-01

Utilizing single-photon photoassociation, we have achieved ultracold rubidium molecules with a high number density that provides a new efficient approach toward molecular quantum degeneracy. A new detection mechanism for ultracold molecules utilizing inelastic atom–molecule collision is demonstrated. The resonant coupling effect on the formation of the X 1 Σ + g ground state 85 Rb 2 allows for a sufficient number of more deeply bound ultracold molecules, which induced an additional trap loss and heating of the co-existing atoms owing to the inelastic atom–molecule collision. Therefore, after the photoassociation process, the ultracold molecules can be investigated using the absorption image of the ultracold rubidium atoms mixed with the molecules in a crossed optical dipole trap. The existence of the ultracold molecules was then verified, and the amount of accumulated molecules was measured. This method detects the final produced ultracold molecules, and hence is distinct from the conventional trap loss experiment, which is used to study the association resonance. It is composed of measurements of the time evolution of an atomic cloud and a decay model, by which the number density of the ultracold 85 Rb 2 molecules in the optical trap was estimated to be >5.2 × 10 11 cm −3 . (paper)

D-state Rydberg electrons interacting with ultracold atoms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krupp, Alexander Thorsten

2014-10-02

This thesis was established in the field of ultracold atoms where the interaction of highly excited D-state electrons with rubidium atoms was examined. This work is divided into two main parts: In the first part we study D-state Rydberg molecules resulting from the binding of a D-state Rydberg electron to a ground state rubidium atom. We show that we can address specific rovibrational molecular states by changing our laser detuning and thus create perfectly aligned axial or antialigned toroidal molecules, in good agreement with our theoretical calculations. Furthermore the influence of the electric field on the Rydberg molecules was investigated, creating novel states which show a different angular dependence and alignment. In the second part of this thesis we excite single D-state Rydberg electrons in a Bose-Einstein condensate. We study the lifetime of these Rydberg electrons, the change of the shape of our condensate and the atom losses in the condensate due to this process. Moreover, we observe quadrupolar shape oscillations of the whole condensate created by the consecutive excitation of Rydberg atoms and compare all results to previous S-state measurements. In the outlook we propose a wide range of further experiments including the proposal of imaging a single electron wavefunction by the imprint of its orbit into the Bose-Einstein condensate.

Disordered ultracold atomic gases in optical lattices: A case study of Fermi-Bose mixtures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahufinger, V.; Sanchez-Palencia, L.; Kantian, A.; Sanpera, A.; Lewenstein, M.

2005-01-01

We present a review of properties of ultracold atomic Fermi-Bose mixtures in inhomogeneous and random optical lattices. In the strong interacting limit and at very low temperatures, fermions form, together with bosons or bosonic holes, composite fermions. Composite fermions behave as a spinless interacting Fermi gas, and in the presence of local disorder they interact via random couplings and feel effective random local potential. This opens a wide variety of possibilities of realizing various kinds of ultracold quantum disordered systems. In this paper we review these possibilities, discuss the accessible quantum disordered phases, and methods for their detection. The discussed quantum phases include Fermi glasses, quantum spin glasses, 'dirty' superfluids, disordered metallic phases, and phases involving quantum percolation

Rydberg-atom formation in strongly correlated ultracold plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bannasch, G.; Pohl, T.

2011-01-01

In plasmas at very low temperatures, the formation of neutral atoms is dominated by collisional three-body recombination, owing to the strong ∼T -9/2 scaling of the corresponding recombination rate with the electron temperature T. While this law is well established at high temperatures, the unphysical divergence as T→0 clearly suggests a breakdown in the low-temperature regime. Here, we present a combined molecular dynamics Monte Carlo study of electron-ion recombination over a wide range of temperatures and densities. Our results reproduce the known behavior of the recombination rate at high temperatures, but reveal significant deviations with decreasing temperature. We discuss the fate of the kinetic bottleneck and resolve the divergence problem as the plasma enters the ultracold, strongly coupled domain.

Tunable superconducting resonators with integrated trap structures for coupling with ultracold atomic gases

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ferdinand, Benedikt; Wiedmaier, Dominik; Koelle, Dieter; Kleiner, Reinhold [Physikalisches Institut and Center for Quantum Science in LISA+, Universitaet Tuebingen (Germany); Bothner, Daniel [Physikalisches Institut and Center for Quantum Science in LISA+, Universitaet Tuebingen (Germany); Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, Delft (Netherlands)

2016-07-01

We intend to investigate a hybrid quantum system where ultracold atomic gases play the role of a long-living quantum memory, coupled to a superconducting qubit via a coplanar waveguide transmission line resonator. As a first step we developed a resonator chip containing a Z-shaped trapping wire for the atom trap. In order to suppress parasitic resonances due to stray capacitances, and to achieve good ground connection we use hybrid superconductor - normal conductor chips. As an additional degree of freedom we add a ferroelectric capacitor making the resonators voltage-tunable. We furthermore show theoretical results on the expected coupling strength between resonator and atomic cloud.

Fast, High-Precision Optical Polarization Synthesizer for Ultracold-Atom Experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Robens, Carsten; Brakhane, Stefan; Alt, Wolfgang; Meschede, Dieter; Zopes, Jonathan; Alberti, Andrea

2018-03-01

We present a technique for the precision synthesis of arbitrary polarization states of light with a high modulation bandwidth. Our approach consists of superimposing two laser light fields with the same wavelength, but with opposite circular polarizations, where the phase and the amplitude of each light field are individually controlled. We find that the polarization-synthesized beam reaches a degree of polarization of 99.99%, which is mainly limited by static spatial variations of the polarization state over the beam profile. We also find that the depolarization caused by temporal fluctuations of the polarization state is about 2 orders of magnitude smaller. In a recent work, Robens et al. [Low-Entropy States of Neutral Atoms in Polarization-Synthesized Optical Lattices, Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 065302 (2017), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.065302] demonstrated an application of the polarization synthesizer to create two independently controllable optical lattices which trap atoms depending on their internal spin state. We use ultracold atoms in polarization-synthesized optical lattices to give an independent, in situ demonstration of the performance of the polarization synthesizer.

Dark states and interferences in cascade transitions of ultracold atoms in a cavity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arun, R.; Agarwal, G.S.

2002-01-01

We examine the competition among one- and two-photon processes in an ultracold, three-level atom undergoing cascade transitions as a result of its interaction with a bimodal cavity. We show parameter domains where two-photon transitions are dominant, and we also study the effect of two-photon emission on the mazer action in the cavity. The two-photon emission leads to the loss of detailed balance and therefore we obtain the photon statistics of the cavity field by the numerical integration of the master equation. The photon distribution in each cavity mode exhibits sub- and super-Poissonian behaviors depending on the strength of atom-field coupling. The photon distribution becomes identical to a Poisson distribution when the atom-field coupling strengths of the modes are equal

Holographic method for site-resolved detection of a 2D array of ultracold atoms

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffmann, Daniel Kai; Deissler, Benjamin; Limmer, Wolfgang; Hecker Denschlag, Johannes

2016-08-01

We propose a novel approach to site-resolved detection of a 2D gas of ultracold atoms in an optical lattice. A near-resonant laser beam is coherently scattered by the atomic array, and after passing a lens its interference pattern is holographically recorded by superimposing it with a reference laser beam on a CCD chip. Fourier transformation of the recorded intensity pattern reconstructs the atomic distribution in the lattice with single-site resolution. The holographic detection method requires only about two hundred scattered photons per atom in order to achieve a high reconstruction fidelity of 99.9 %. Therefore, additional cooling during detection might not be necessary even for light atomic elements such as lithium. Furthermore, first investigations suggest that small aberrations of the lens can be post-corrected in imaging processing.

Classical and quantum analysis of one-dimensional velocity selection for ultracold atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fox, J K; Kim, H A; Mishra, S R; Myrskog, S H; Jofre, A M; Segal, L R; Kim, J B; Steinberg, A M

2005-01-01

We discuss a velocity selection technique for obtaining cold atoms, in which all atoms below a certain energy are spatially selected from the surrounding atom cloud. Velocity selection can in some cases be more efficient than other cooling techniques for the preparation of ultracold atom clouds in one dimension. With quantum mechanical and classical simulations and theory we present a scheme using a dipole force barrier to select the coldest atoms from a magnetically trapped atom cloud. The dipole and magnetic potentials create a local minimum which traps the coldest atoms. A unique advantage of this technique is the sharp cut-off in the velocity distribution of the sample of selected atoms. Such a non-thermal distribution should prove useful for a variety of experiments, including proposed studies of atomic tunnelling and scattering from quantum potentials. We show that when the rms size of the atom cloud is smaller than the local minimum in which the selected atoms are trapped, the velocity selection technique can be more efficient in one dimension than some common techniques such as evaporative cooling. For example, one simulation shows nearly 6% of the atoms retained at a temperature 100 times lower than the starting condition

Symmetry breaking in small rotating clouds of trapped ultracold Bose atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dagnino, D.; Barberan, N.; Riera, A.; Osterloh, K.; Lewenstein, M.

2007-01-01

We study the signatures of rotational and phase symmetry breaking in small rotating clouds of trapped ultracold Bose atoms by looking at rigorously defined condensate wave function. Rotational symmetry breaking occurs in narrow frequency windows, where energy degeneracy between the lowest energy states of different total angular momentum takes place. This leads to a complex condensate wave function that exhibits vortices clearly seen as holes in the density, as well as characteristic local phase patterns, reflecting the appearance of vorticities. Phase symmetry (or gauge symmetry) breaking, on the other hand, is clearly manifested in the interference of two independent rotating clouds

Conjugate gradient minimisation approach to generating holographic traps for ultracold atoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Harte, Tiffany; Bruce, Graham D; Keeling, Jonathan; Cassettari, Donatella

2014-11-03

Direct minimisation of a cost function can in principle provide a versatile and highly controllable route to computational hologram generation. Here we show that the careful design of cost functions, combined with numerically efficient conjugate gradient minimisation, establishes a practical method for the generation of holograms for a wide range of target light distributions. This results in a guided optimisation process, with a crucial advantage illustrated by the ability to circumvent optical vortex formation during hologram calculation. We demonstrate the implementation of the conjugate gradient method for both discrete and continuous intensity distributions and discuss its applicability to optical trapping of ultracold atoms.

Large-angle illumination STEM: Toward three-dimensional atom-by-atom imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ishikawa, Ryo, E-mail: ishikawa@sigma.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp [Institute of Engineering Innovation, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8656 (Japan); Lupini, Andrew R. [Materials Science & Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 (United States); Hinuma, Yoyo [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501 (Japan); Pennycook, Stephen J. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Tennessee, 328 Ferris Hall, Knoxville, TN 37996 (United States)

2015-04-15

To fully understand and control materials and their properties, it is of critical importance to determine their atomic structures in all three dimensions. Recent revolutionary advances in electron optics – the inventions of geometric and chromatic aberration correctors as well as electron source monochromators – have provided fertile ground for performing optical depth sectioning at atomic-scale dimensions. In this study we theoretically demonstrate the imaging of top/sub-surface atomic structures and identify the depth of single dopants, single vacancies and the other point defects within materials by large-angle illumination scanning transmission electron microscopy (LAI-STEM). The proposed method also allows us to measure specimen properties such as thickness or three-dimensional surface morphology using observations from a single crystallographic orientation. - Highlights: • We theoretically demonstrate 3D near-atomic depth resolution imaging by large-angle illumination STEM. • This method can be useful to identify the depth of single dopants, single vacancies within materials. • This method can be useful to determine reconstructed surface atomic structures.

Experimental apparatus for overlapping a ground-state cooled ion with ultracold atoms

Science.gov (United States)

Meir, Ziv; Sikorsky, Tomas; Ben-shlomi, Ruti; Akerman, Nitzan; Pinkas, Meirav; Dallal, Yehonatan; Ozeri, Roee

2018-03-01

Experimental realizations of charged ions and neutral atoms in overlapping traps are gaining increasing interest due to their wide research application ranging from chemistry at the quantum level to quantum simulations of solid state systems. In this paper, we describe our experimental system in which we overlap a single ground-state cooled ion trapped in a linear Paul trap with a cloud of ultracold atoms such that both constituents are in the ?K regime. Excess micromotion (EMM) currently limits atom-ion interaction energy to the mK energy scale and above. We demonstrate spectroscopy methods and compensation techniques which characterize and reduce the ion's parasitic EMM energy to the ?K regime even for ion crystals of several ions. We further give a substantial review on the non-equilibrium dynamics which governs atom-ion systems. The non-equilibrium dynamics is manifested by a power law distribution of the ion's energy. We also give an overview on the coherent and non-coherent thermometry tools which can be used to characterize the ion's energy distribution after single to many atom-ion collisions.

Measuring the One-Particle Excitations of Ultracold Fermionic Atoms by Stimulated Raman Spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dao, T.-L.; Georges, Antoine; Dalibard, Jean; Salomon, Christophe; Carusotto, Iacopo

2007-01-01

We propose a Raman spectroscopy technique which is able to probe the one-particle Green function, the Fermi surface, and the quasiparticles of a gas of strongly interacting ultracold atoms. We give quantitative examples of experimentally accessible spectra. The efficiency of the method is validated by means of simulated images for the case of a usual Fermi liquid as well as for more exotic states: specific signatures of, e.g., a d-wave pseudogap are clearly visible

Quantum many-body dynamics of ultracold atoms in optical lattices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kessler, Stefan

2014-04-15

Ultracold atoms can be trapped in periodic intensity patterns of light created by counterpropagating laser beams, so-called optical lattices. In contrast to its natural counterpart, electrons in a solid state crystal, this man-made setup is very clean and highly isolated from environmental degrees of freedom. Moreover, to a large extent, the experimenter has dynamical control over the relevant system parameters: the interaction between atoms, the tunneling amplitude between lattice sites, and even the dimensionality of the lattice. These advantages render this system a unique platform for the simulation of quantum many-body dynamics for various lattice Hamiltonians as has been demonstrated in several experiments by now. The most significant step in recent times has arguably been the introduction of single-site detection of individual atoms in optical lattices. This technique, based on fluorescence microscopy, opens a new doorway for the study of quantum many-body states: the detection of the microscopic atom configuration. In this thesis, we theoretically explore the dynamics of ultracold atoms in optical lattices for various setups realized in present-day experiments. Our main focus lies on aspects that become experimentally accessible by (realistic extensions of) the novel single-site measurement technique. The first part deals with the expansion of initially confined atoms in a homogeneous lattice, which is one way to create atomic motion in experiments. We analyze the buildup of spatial correlations during the expansion of a finitely extended band insulating state in one dimension. The numerical simulation reveals the creation of remote spin-entangled fermions in the strongly interacting regime. We discuss the experimental observation of such spin-entangled pairs by means of a single-site measurement. Furthermore, we suggest studying the impact of observations on the expansion dynamics for the extreme case of a projective measurement in the spatial occupation

Quantum many-body dynamics of ultracold atoms in optical lattices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kessler, Stefan

2014-01-01

Ultracold atoms can be trapped in periodic intensity patterns of light created by counterpropagating laser beams, so-called optical lattices. In contrast to its natural counterpart, electrons in a solid state crystal, this man-made setup is very clean and highly isolated from environmental degrees of freedom. Moreover, to a large extent, the experimenter has dynamical control over the relevant system parameters: the interaction between atoms, the tunneling amplitude between lattice sites, and even the dimensionality of the lattice. These advantages render this system a unique platform for the simulation of quantum many-body dynamics for various lattice Hamiltonians as has been demonstrated in several experiments by now. The most significant step in recent times has arguably been the introduction of single-site detection of individual atoms in optical lattices. This technique, based on fluorescence microscopy, opens a new doorway for the study of quantum many-body states: the detection of the microscopic atom configuration. In this thesis, we theoretically explore the dynamics of ultracold atoms in optical lattices for various setups realized in present-day experiments. Our main focus lies on aspects that become experimentally accessible by (realistic extensions of) the novel single-site measurement technique. The first part deals with the expansion of initially confined atoms in a homogeneous lattice, which is one way to create atomic motion in experiments. We analyze the buildup of spatial correlations during the expansion of a finitely extended band insulating state in one dimension. The numerical simulation reveals the creation of remote spin-entangled fermions in the strongly interacting regime. We discuss the experimental observation of such spin-entangled pairs by means of a single-site measurement. Furthermore, we suggest studying the impact of observations on the expansion dynamics for the extreme case of a projective measurement in the spatial occupation

From few to many. Ultracold atoms in reduced dimensions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wenz, Andre Niklas

2013-01-01

This thesis reports on experimental studies exploring few and many-body physics of ultracold Bose and Fermi gases with reduced dimensionality. These experiments illustrate the versatility and great amount of control over the particle number, the interaction and other degrees of freedom, like the spin, that these generic quantum systems offer. In the first part of this thesis, we use quasi one-dimensional few-particle systems of one to ten fermionic atoms to investigate the crossover from few to many-body physics. This is achieved by measuring the interaction energy between a single impurity atom in a state vertical stroke ↓ right angle which repulsively interacts with an increasing number of majority atoms in a state vertical stroke ↑ right angle. We find that the system quickly approaches the results from the many-body theory, which describes the behavior of a single impurity immersed in a Fermi sea of an infinite number of majority particles. The second part of this thesis presents studies of the time evolution of a bosonic F=1 spinor BEC of 87 Rb atoms. In this system, we investigate the emergence and coarsening of ferromagnetic spin textures from initially unmagnetized samples. While the ferromagnetic domains grow, we observe the development of a spin space anisotropy which is in agreement with the predicted phase-diagram. The last part of this thesis presents our first steps towards the investigation of phase coherence of quasi two-dimensional quantum gases in the crossover from bosonic molecules to fermionic atoms.

From few to many. Ultracold atoms in reduced dimensions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wenz, Andre Niklas

2013-12-19

This thesis reports on experimental studies exploring few and many-body physics of ultracold Bose and Fermi gases with reduced dimensionality. These experiments illustrate the versatility and great amount of control over the particle number, the interaction and other degrees of freedom, like the spin, that these generic quantum systems offer. In the first part of this thesis, we use quasi one-dimensional few-particle systems of one to ten fermionic atoms to investigate the crossover from few to many-body physics. This is achieved by measuring the interaction energy between a single impurity atom in a state vertical stroke ↓ right angle which repulsively interacts with an increasing number of majority atoms in a state vertical stroke ↑ right angle. We find that the system quickly approaches the results from the many-body theory, which describes the behavior of a single impurity immersed in a Fermi sea of an infinite number of majority particles. The second part of this thesis presents studies of the time evolution of a bosonic F=1 spinor BEC of {sup 87}Rb atoms. In this system, we investigate the emergence and coarsening of ferromagnetic spin textures from initially unmagnetized samples. While the ferromagnetic domains grow, we observe the development of a spin space anisotropy which is in agreement with the predicted phase-diagram. The last part of this thesis presents our first steps towards the investigation of phase coherence of quasi two-dimensional quantum gases in the crossover from bosonic molecules to fermionic atoms.

Universal Three-Body Physics in Ultracold KRb Mixtures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wacker, L. J.; Jørgensen, N. B.; Birkmose, Danny Matthiesen

2016-01-01

Ultracold atomic gases have recently become a driving force in few-body physics due to the observation of the Efimov effect. While initially observed in equal mass systems, one expects even richer few-body physics in the mass-imbalanced case. In previous experiments with ultracold mixtures of pot...

Realization of the manipulation of ultracold atoms with a reconfigurable nanomagnetic system of domain walls.

Science.gov (United States)

West, Adam D; Weatherill, Kevin J; Hayward, Thomas J; Fry, Paul W; Schrefl, Thomas; Gibbs, Mike R J; Adams, Charles S; Allwood, Dan A; Hughes, Ifan G

2012-08-08

Planar magnetic nanowires have been vital to the development of spintronic technology. They provide an unparalleled combination of magnetic reconfigurability, controllability, and scalability, which has helped to realize such applications as racetrack memory and novel logic gates. Microfabricated atom optics benefit from all of these properties, and we present the first demonstration of the amalgamation of spintronic technology with ultracold atoms. A magnetic interaction is exhibited through the reflection of a cloud of (87)Rb atoms at a temperature of 10 μK, from a 2 mm × 2 mm array of nanomagnetic domain walls. In turn, the incident atoms approach the array at heights of the order of 100 nm and are thus used to probe magnetic fields at this distance.

Lattice-Assisted Spectroscopy: A Generalized Scanning Tunneling Microscope for Ultracold Atoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Kantian, A; Schollwöck, U; Giamarchi, T

2015-10-16

We propose a scheme to measure the frequency-resolved local particle and hole spectra of any optical lattice-confined system of correlated ultracold atoms that offers single-site addressing and imaging, which is now an experimental reality. Combining perturbation theory and time-dependent density matrix renormalization group simulations, we quantitatively test and validate this approach of lattice-assisted spectroscopy on several one-dimensional example systems, such as the superfluid and Mott insulator, with and without a parabolic trap, and finally on edge states of the bosonic Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model. We highlight extensions of our basic scheme to obtain an even wider variety of interesting and important frequency resolved spectra.

EDITORIAL: Focus on Cold and Ultracold Molecules FOCUS ON COLD AND ULTRACOLD MOLECULES

Science.gov (United States)

Carr, Lincoln D.; Ye, Jun

2009-05-01

Cold and ultracold molecules are the next wave of ultracold physics, giving rise to an exciting array of scientific opportunities, including many body physics for novel quantum phase transitions, new states of matter, and quantum information processing. Precision tests of fundamental physical laws benefit from the existence of molecular internal structure with exquisite control. The study of novel collision and reaction dynamics will open a new chapter of quantum chemistry. Cold molecules bring together researchers from a variety of fields, including atomic, molecular, and optical physics, chemistry and chemical physics, quantum information science and quantum simulations, condensed matter physics, nuclear physics, and astrophysics, a truly remarkable synergy of scientific explorations. For the past decade there have been steady advances in direct cooling techniques, from buffer-gas cooling to cold molecular beams to electro- and magneto-molecular decelerators. These techniques have allowed a large variety of molecules to be cooled for pioneering studies. Recent amazing advances in experimental techniques combining the ultracold and the ultraprecise have furthermore brought molecules to the point of quantum degeneracy. These latter indirect cooling techniques magnetically associate atoms from a Bose-Einstein condensate and/or a quantum degenerate Fermi gas, transferring at 90% efficiency highly excited Fano-Feshbach molecules, which are on the order of 10 000 Bohr radii in size, to absolute ground state molecules just a few Bohr across. It was this latter advance, together with significant breakthroughs in internal state manipulations, which inspired us to coordinate this focus issue now, and is the reason why we say the next wave of ultracold physics has now arrived. Whether directly or indirectly cooled, heteronuclear polar molecules offer distinct new features in comparison to cold atoms, while sharing all of their advantages (purity, high coherence

Observation of Spin Polarons in a Tunable Fermi Liquid of Ultracold Atoms

Science.gov (United States)

Zwierlein, Martin

2009-05-01

We have observed spin polarons, dressed spin down impurities in a spin up Fermi sea of ultracold atoms via tomographic RF spectroscopy. Feshbach resonances allow to freely tune the interactions between the two spin states involved. A single spin down atom immersed in a Fermi sea of spin up atoms can do one of two things: For strong attraction, it can form a molecule with exactly one spin up partner, but for weaker interaction it will spread its attraction and surround itself with a collection of majority atoms. This spin down atom dressed with a spin up cloud constitutes the spin- or Fermi polaron. We have observed a striking spectroscopic signature of this quasi-particle for various interaction strengths, a narrow peak in the spin down spectrum that emerges above a broad background. The spectra allow us to directly measure the polaron energy and the quasi-particle residue Z. The polarons are found to be only weakly interacting with each other, and can thus be identified with the quasi-particles of Landau's Fermi liquid theory. At a critical interaction strength, we observe a transition from spin one-half polarons to spin zero molecules. At this point the Fermi liquid undergoes a phase transition into a superfluid Bose liquid.

Strategic Applications of Ultra-Cold Atoms

Science.gov (United States)

2008-03-07

Peer-Reviewed Conference Proceeding publications (other than abstracts): “Laser cooling in anisotropic traps”, M. Vengalattore, R.S. Conroy, M. Prentiss...IEEE Cat. No. 04CH37598. Piscataway, NJ, IEEE, 2004, 1 pp. “Guiding of light in an ultracold, anisotropic medium”, M. Vengalattore and M. Prentiss, in...molecules the rotational dynamics imposes significantly larger Rabi frequencies than would otherwise be expected, but within this limitation, a full

Trapped atoms along nanophotonic resonators

Science.gov (United States)

Fields, Brian; Kim, May; Chang, Tzu-Han; Hung, Chen-Lung

2017-04-01

Many-body systems subject to long-range interactions have remained a very challenging topic experimentally. Ultracold atoms trapped in extreme proximity to the surface of nanophotonic structures provides a dynamic system combining the strong atom-atom interactions mediated by guided mode photons with the exquisite control implemented with trapped atom systems. The hybrid system promises pair-wise tunability of long-range interactions between atomic pseudo spins, allowing studies of quantum magnetism extending far beyond nearest neighbor interactions. In this talk, we will discuss our current status developing high quality nanophotonic ring resonators, engineered on CMOS compatible optical chips with integrated nanostructures that, in combination with a side illuminating beam, can realize stable atom traps approximately 100nm above the surface. We will report on our progress towards loading arrays of cold atoms near the surface of these structures and studying atom-atom interaction mediated by photons with high cooperativity.

Tunable spin-orbit coupling for ultracold atoms in two-dimensional optical lattices

Science.gov (United States)

Grusdt, Fabian; Li, Tracy; Bloch, Immanuel; Demler, Eugene

2017-06-01

Spin-orbit coupling (SOC) is at the heart of many exotic band structures and can give rise to many-body states with topological order. Here we present a general scheme based on a combination of microwave driving and lattice shaking for the realization of two-dimensional SOC with ultracold atoms in systems with inversion symmetry. We show that the strengths of Rashba and Dresselhaus SOC can be independently tuned in a spin-dependent square lattice. More generally, our method can be used to open gaps between different spin states without breaking time-reversal symmetry. We demonstrate that this allows for the realization of topological insulators with nontrivial spin textures closely related to the Kane-Mele model.

Ultracold atoms in one-dimensional optical lattices approaching the Tonks-Girardeau regime

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pollet, L.; Rombouts, S.M.A.; Denteneer, P.J. H.

2004-01-01

Recent experiments on ultracold atomic alkali gases in a one-dimensional optical lattice have demonstrated the transition from a gas of soft-core bosons to a Tonks-Girardeau gas in the hard-core limit, where one-dimensional bosons behave like fermions in many respects. We have studied the underlying many-body physics through numerical simulations which accommodate both the soft-core and hard-core limits in one single framework. We find that the Tonks-Girardeau gas is reached only at the strongest optical lattice potentials. Results for slightly higher densities, where the gas develops a Mott-like phase already at weaker optical lattice potentials, show that these Mott-like short-range correlations do not enhance the convergence to the hard-core limit

The formation and interactions of cold and ultracold molecules: new challenges for interdisciplinary physics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dulieu, O [Laboratoire Aime Cotton, CNRS, Bat. 505, Univ Paris-Sud 11, F-91405 Orsay Cedex (France); Gabbanini, C [Istituto per i processi chimico-fisici del C.N.R., Via Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa (Italy)], E-mail: olivier.dulieu@lac.u-psud.fr, E-mail: carlo@ipcf.cnr.it

2009-08-15

Progress on research in the field of molecules at cold and ultracold temperatures is reported in this review. It covers extensively the experimental methods to produce, detect and characterize cold and ultracold molecules including association of ultracold atoms, deceleration by external fields and kinematic cooling. Confinement of molecules in different kinds of traps is also discussed. The basic theoretical issues related to the knowledge of the molecular structure, the atom-molecule and molecule-molecule mutual interactions, and to their possible manipulation and control with external fields, are reviewed. A short discussion on the broad area of applications completes the review.

Ground States of Ultracold Spin-1 Atoms in a Deep Double-Well Optical Superlattice in a Weak Magnetic Field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng Gong-Ping; Qin Shuai-Feng; Wang Shou-Yang; Jian Wen-Tian

2013-01-01

The ground states of the ultracold spin-1 atoms trapped in a deep one-dimensional double-well optical superlattice in a weak magnetic field are obtained. It is shown that the ground-state diagrams of the reduced double-well model are remarkably different for the antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic condensates. The transition between the singlet state and nematic state is observed for the antiferromagnetic interaction atoms, which can be realized by modulating the tunneling parameter or the quadratic Zeeman energy. An experiment to distinguish the different spin states is suggested. (general)

Expansion of an ultracold Rydberg plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Forest, Gabriel T.; Li, Yin; Ward, Edwin D.; Goodsell, Anne L.; Tate, Duncan A.

2018-04-01

We report a systematic experimental and numerical study of the expansion of ultracold Rydberg plasmas. Specifically, we have measured the asymptotic expansion velocities, v0, of ultracold neutral plasmas (UNPs) which evolve from cold, dense samples of Rydberg rubidium atoms using ion time-of-flight spectroscopy. From this, we have obtained values for the effective initial plasma electron temperature, Te ,0=mionv02/kB (where mion is the Rb+ ion mass), as a function of the original Rydberg atom density and binding energy, Eb ,i. We have also simulated numerically the interaction of UNPs with a large reservoir of Rydberg atoms to obtain data to compare with our experimental results. We find that for Rydberg atom densities in the range 107-109 cm-3, for states with principal quantum number n >40 , Te ,0 is insensitive to the initial ionization mechanism which seeds the plasma. In addition, the quantity kBTe ,0 is strongly correlated with the fraction of atoms which ionize, and is in the range 0.6 ×| Eb ,i|≲ kBTe ,0≲2.5 ×|Eb ,i| . On the other hand, plasmas from Rydberg samples with n ≲40 evolve with no significant additional ionization of the remaining atoms once a threshold number of ions has been established. The dominant interaction between the plasma electrons and the Rydberg atoms is one in which the atoms are deexcited, a heating process for electrons that competes with adiabatic cooling to establish an equilibrium where Te ,0 is determined by their Coulomb coupling parameter, Γe˜0.01 .

Evolution from Rydberg gas to ultracold plasma in a supersonic atomic beam of Xe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hung, J; Sadeghi, H; Schulz-Weiling, M; Grant, E R

2014-01-01

A Rydberg gas of xenon, entrained in a supersonic atomic beam, evolves slowly to form an ultracold plasma. In the early stages of this evolution, when the free-electron density is low, Rydberg atoms undergo long-range ℓ-mixing collisions, yielding states of high orbital angular momentum. The development of high-ℓ states promotes dipole–dipole interactions that help to drive Penning ionization. The electron density increases until it reaches the threshold for avalanche. Ninety μs after the production of a Rydberg gas with the initial state, n 0 ℓ 0 =42d, a 432 V cm −1 electrostatic pulse fails to separate charge in the excited volume, an effect which is ascribed to screening by free electrons. Photoexcitation cross sections, observed rates of ℓ-mixing, and a coupled-rate-equation model simulating the onset of the electron-impact avalanche point consistently to an initial Rydberg gas density of 5×10 8 cm −3 . (paper)

Evolution from Rydberg gas to ultracold plasma in a supersonic atomic beam of Xe

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, J.; Sadeghi, H.; Schulz-Weiling, M.; Grant, E. R.

2014-08-01

A Rydberg gas of xenon, entrained in a supersonic atomic beam, evolves slowly to form an ultracold plasma. In the early stages of this evolution, when the free-electron density is low, Rydberg atoms undergo long-range \\ell -mixing collisions, yielding states of high orbital angular momentum. The development of high-\\ell states promotes dipole-dipole interactions that help to drive Penning ionization. The electron density increases until it reaches the threshold for avalanche. Ninety μs after the production of a Rydberg gas with the initial state, {{n}_{0}}{{\\ell }_{0}}=42d, a 432 V cm-1 electrostatic pulse fails to separate charge in the excited volume, an effect which is ascribed to screening by free electrons. Photoexcitation cross sections, observed rates of \\ell -mixing, and a coupled-rate-equation model simulating the onset of the electron-impact avalanche point consistently to an initial Rydberg gas density of 5\\times {{10}^{8}}\\;c{{m}^{-3}}.

Trapping ultracold gases near cryogenic materials with rapid reconfigurability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Naides, Matthew A.; Turner, Richard W.; Lai, Ruby A.; DiSciacca, Jack M.; Lev, Benjamin L. [Departments of Applied Physics and Physics and Ginzton Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 (United States)

2013-12-16

We demonstrate an atom chip trapping system that allows the placement and high-resolution imaging of ultracold atoms within microns from any ≲100 μm-thin, UHV-compatible material, while also allowing sample exchange with minimal experimental downtime. The sample is not connected to the atom chip, allowing rapid exchange without perturbing the atom chip or laser cooling apparatus. Exchange of the sample and retrapping of atoms has been performed within a week turnaround, limited only by chamber baking. Moreover, the decoupling of sample and atom chip provides the ability to independently tune the sample temperature and its position with respect to the trapped ultracold gas, which itself may remain in the focus of a high-resolution imaging system. As a first demonstration of this system, we have confined a 700-nK cloud of 8 × 10{sup 4} {sup 87}Rb atoms within 100 μm of a gold-mirrored 100-μm-thick silicon substrate. The substrate was cooled to 35 K without use of a heat shield, while the atom chip, 120 μm away, remained at room temperature. Atoms may be imaged and retrapped every 16 s, allowing rapid data collection.

Detecting Friedel oscillations in ultracold Fermi gases

Science.gov (United States)

Riechers, Keno; Hueck, Klaus; Luick, Niclas; Lompe, Thomas; Moritz, Henning

2017-09-01

Investigating Friedel oscillations in ultracold gases would complement the studies performed on solid state samples with scanning-tunneling microscopes. In atomic quantum gases interactions and external potentials can be tuned freely and the inherently slower dynamics allow to access non-equilibrium dynamics following a potential or interaction quench. Here, we examine how Friedel oscillations can be observed in current ultracold gas experiments under realistic conditions. To this aim we numerically calculate the amplitude of the Friedel oscillations which are induced by a potential barrier in a 1D Fermi gas and compare it to the expected atomic and photonic shot noise in a density measurement. We find that to detect Friedel oscillations the signal from several thousand one-dimensional systems has to be averaged. However, as up to 100 parallel one-dimensional systems can be prepared in a single run with present experiments, averaging over about 100 images is sufficient.

Light crystals for ultracold quantum degenerate bosonic gases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arimondo, E.

2009-01-01

Full text follows. The experimental realization of quantum degenerate states in ultracold atomic gases has opened the possibility to realize few body systems isolated from external perturbations and at temperatures close to absolute zero. Under these conditions counterintuitive phenomena characteristic of the quantum mechanical evolution may be assessed experimentally. Matter quantum-mechanical waves inside periodic potentials investigated in solid-state physics, where electrons propagate within a crystal lattice. Interfering laser beams create a light-induced spatial periodic potential for ultracold atoms called an 'optical lattice'. Atoms hopping between the lattice periodic potential minima emulate the motion of electrons in a crystal. The creation of one-, two-, and three-dimensional periodic structures in which atoms can be trapped and accelerated, with the possibility of switching or modulating the lattice at will, gives a great flexibility. In addition atomic physicists can tune the lattice's geometry, the rate of hopping, and the push and pull between atoms within the light crystals. So they hope to map the various behaviors of solid-state models. On the basis of the research work performed at Pisa, several processes of quantum mechanics evolution within a spatial periodic potential and associated to the solid-state physics will be presented

Ultrafast electron diffraction using an ultracold source

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. W. van Mourik

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The study of structural dynamics of complex macromolecular crystals using electrons requires bunches of sufficient coherence and charge. We present diffraction patterns from graphite, obtained with bunches from an ultracold electron source, based on femtosecond near-threshold photoionization of a laser-cooled atomic gas. By varying the photoionization wavelength, we change the effective source temperature from 300 K to 10 K, resulting in a concomitant change in the width of the diffraction peaks, which is consistent with independently measured source parameters. This constitutes a direct measurement of the beam coherence of this ultracold source and confirms its suitability for protein crystal diffraction.

Ultracold neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steenstrup, S.

Briefly surveys recent developments in research work with ultracold neutrons (neutrons of very low velocity, up to 10 m/s at up to 10 -7 eV and 10 -3 K). Slow neutrons can be detected in an ionisation chamber filled with B 10 F 3 . Very slow neutrons can be used for investigations into the dipole moment of neutrons. Neutrons of large wave length have properties similar to those of light. The limit angle for total reflection is governed by the wave length and by the material. Total reflection can be used to filter ultracold neutrons out of the moderator material of a reactor. Total reflection can also be used to store ultracold neutrons but certain problems with storage have not yet been clarified. Slow neutrons can be made to lose speed in a neutron turbine, and come out as ultracold neutrons. A beam of ultracold neutrons could be used in a neutron microscope. (J.S.)

Dissociation and decay of ultracold sodium molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mukaiyama, T.; Abo-Shaeer, J.R.; Xu, K.; Chin, J.K.; Ketterle, W.

2004-01-01

The dissociation of ultracold molecules was studied by ramping an external magnetic field through a Feshbach resonance. The observed dissociation energies directly yielded the strength of the atom-molecule coupling. They showed nonlinear dependence on the ramp speed. This was explained by a Wigner threshold law which predicts that the decay rate of the molecules above threshold increases with the density of states. In addition, inelastic molecule-molecule and molecule-atom collisions were characterized

Quantum optics with ultracold quantum gases: towards the full quantum regime of the light-matter interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mekhov, Igor B; Ritsch, Helmut

2012-01-01

Although the study of ultracold quantum gases trapped by light is a prominent direction of modern research, the quantum properties of light were widely neglected in this field. Quantum optics with quantum gases closes this gap and addresses phenomena where the quantum statistical natures of both light and ultracold matter play equally important roles. First, light can serve as a quantum nondemolition probe of the quantum dynamics of various ultracold particles from ultracold atomic and molecular gases to nanoparticles and nanomechanical systems. Second, due to the dynamic light-matter entanglement, projective measurement-based preparation of the many-body states is possible, where the class of emerging atomic states can be designed via optical geometry. Light scattering constitutes such a quantum measurement with controllable measurement back-action. As in cavity-based spin squeezing, the atom number squeezed and Schrödinger cat states can be prepared. Third, trapping atoms inside an optical cavity, one creates optical potentials and forces, which are not prescribed but quantized and dynamical variables themselves. Ultimately, cavity quantum electrodynamics with quantum gases requires a self-consistent solution for light and particles, which enriches the picture of quantum many-body states of atoms trapped in quantum potentials. This will allow quantum simulations of phenomena related to the physics of phonons, polarons, polaritons and other quantum quasiparticles. (topical review)

Ultracold fermions with repulsive interactions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ketterle W.

2013-08-01

Full Text Available An ultracold Fermi gas with repulsive interaction has been studied. For weak interactions, the atomic gas is metastable, and the interactions were characterized by obtaining the isothermal compressibility from atomic density profiles. For stronger interactions (kFa ≈ 1, rapid conversion into Feshbach molecules is observed. When the conversion rate becomes comparable to the Fermi energy divided by η, the atomic gas cannot reach equilibrium without forming pairs. This precludes the predicted transition to a ferromagnetic state (Stoner transition. The absence of spin fluctuations proves that the gas stays paramagnetic. In free space, a Fermi gas with strong short-range repulsion does not exist because of the rapid coupling to molecular states.

Competition between Final-State and Pairing-Gap Effects in the Radio-Frequency Spectra of Ultracold Fermi Atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perali, A.; Pieri, P.; Strinati, G. C.

2008-01-01

The radio-frequency spectra of ultracold Fermi atoms are calculated by including final-state interactions affecting the excited level of the transition and compared with the experimental data. A competition is revealed between pairing-gap effects which tend to push the oscillator strength toward high frequencies away from threshold and final-state effects which tend instead to pull the oscillator strength toward threshold. As a result of this competition, the position of the peak of the spectra cannot be simply related to the value of the pairing gap, whose extraction thus requires support from theoretical calculations

Generalized quantum mean-field systems and their application to ultracold atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trimborn-Witthaut, Friederike Annemarie

2011-01-01

Strongly interacting many-body systems consisting of a large number of indistinguishable particles play an important role in many areas of physics. Though such systems are hard to deal with theoretically since the dimension of the respective Hilbert space increases exponentially both in the particle number and in the number of system modes. Therefore, approximations are of considerable interest. The mean-field approximation describes the behaviour in the macroscopic limit N→∞, which leads to an effective nonlinear single-particle problem. Although this approximation is widely used, rigorous results on the applicability and especially on finite size corrections are extremely rare. One prominent example of strongly interacting many-body systems are ultracold atoms in optical lattices, which are a major subject of this thesis. Typically these systems consist of a large but well-defined number of particles, such that corrections to the mean-field limit can be systematically studied. This thesis is divided into two parts: In the first part we study generalized quantum mean-field systems in a C * -algebraic framework. These systems are characterized by their intrinsic permutation symmetry. In the limit of infinite system size, N→∞, the intensive observables converge to the commutative algebra of weak * -continuous functions on the single particle state space. To quantify the deviations from the meanfield prediction for large but finite N, we establish a differential calculus for state space functions and provide a generalized Taylor expansion around the mean-field limit. Furthermore, we introduce the algebra of macroscopic fluctuations around the mean-field limit and prove a quantum version of the central limit theorem. On the basis of these results, we give a detailed study of the finite size corrections to the ground state energy and establish bounds, for both the quantum and the classical case. Finally, we restrict ourselves to the subspace of Bose

Functional renormalization and ultracold quantum gases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Floerchinger, Stefan

2010-01-01

Modern techniques from quantum field theory are applied in this work to the description of ultracold quantum gases. This leads to a unified description of many phenomena including superfluidity for bosons and fermions, classical and quantum phase transitions, different dimensions, thermodynamic properties and few-body phenomena as bound state formation or the Efimov effect. The non-perturbative treatment with renormalization group flow equations can account for all known limiting cases by solving one single equation. It improves previous results quantitatively and brings qualitatively new insights. As an example, new quantum phase transitions are found for fermions with three spin states. Ultracold atomic gases can be seen as an interesting model for features of high energy physics and for condensed matter theory. The research reported in this thesis helps to solve the difficult complexity problem in modern theoretical physics. (orig.)

Sympathetic cooling in a rubidium cesium mixture: Production of ultracold cesium atoms; Sympathetisches Kuehlen in einer Rubidium-Caesium-Mischung: Erzeugung ultrakalter Caesiumatome

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haas, M.

2007-07-01

This thesis presents experiments for the production of ultracold rubidium cesium mixture in a magnetic trap. The long-termed aim of the experiment is the study of the interaction of few cesium atoms with a Bose-Einstein condensate of rubidium atoms. Especially by controlled variation of the cesium atom number the transition in the description of the interaction by concepts of the one-particle physics to the description by concepts of the many-particle physics shall be studied. The rubidium atoms are trapped in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) and from there reloaded into a magnetic trap. In this the rubidium atoms are stored in the state vertical stroke f=2,m{sub f}=2 right angle of the electronic ground state and evaporatively cooled by means of microwave-induced transitions into the state vertical stroke f=1,m{sub f}=1] (microwave cooling). The cesium atoms are also trppaed in a MOT and into the same magnetic trap reloaded, in which they are stored in the state vertical stroke f=4,m{sub f}=4 right angle of the electronic ground state together with rubidium. Because of the different hyperfine splitting only rubidium is evaporatively cooled, while cesium is cooled jointly sympathetically - i.e. by theramal contact via elastic collisions with rubidium atoms. The first two chapters contain a description of interatomic interactions in ultracold gases as well as a short summary of theoretical concepts in the description of Bose-Einstein condensates. The chapters 3 and 4 contain a short presentation of the methods applied in the experiment for the production of ultracold gases as well as the experimental arrangement; especially in the framework of this thesis a new coil system has been designed, which offers in view of future experiments additionally optical access for an optical trap. Additionally the fourth chapter contains an extensive description of the experimental cycle, which is applied in order to store rubidium and cesium atoms together into the magnetic trap. The

The Pauli potential in relation to the differential virial theorem with application to experiments on ultracold atomic gases of fermions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

March, N.H.

2008-08-01

In early work by the writer introducing the Pauli potential VP (r) into density functional theory, the relation of VP (r) to the, as yet unknown, single-particle kinetic energy density functional was emphasized. Here, because of ongoing experiments on ultracold atomic gases of fermions, an explicit expression for the first derivative of VP (r) for an arbitrary number of closed shells generated by harmonic confinement is derived in terms of the spherically symmetric particle density n(r) and the confining potential. (author)

Photodissociation of ultracold diatomic strontium molecules with quantum state control.

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, M; McGuyer, B H; Apfelbeck, F; Lee, C-H; Majewska, I; Moszynski, R; Zelevinsky, T

2016-07-07

Chemical reactions at ultracold temperatures are expected to be dominated by quantum mechanical effects. Although progress towards ultracold chemistry has been made through atomic photoassociation, Feshbach resonances and bimolecular collisions, these approaches have been limited by imperfect quantum state selectivity. In particular, attaining complete control of the ground or excited continuum quantum states has remained a challenge. Here we achieve this control using photodissociation, an approach that encodes a wealth of information in the angular distribution of outgoing fragments. By photodissociating ultracold (88)Sr2 molecules with full control of the low-energy continuum, we access the quantum regime of ultracold chemistry, observing resonant and nonresonant barrier tunnelling, matter-wave interference of reaction products and forbidden reaction pathways. Our results illustrate the failure of the traditional quasiclassical model of photodissociation and instead are accurately described by a quantum mechanical model. The experimental ability to produce well-defined quantum continuum states at low energies will enable high-precision studies of long-range molecular potentials for which accurate quantum chemistry models are unavailable, and may serve as a source of entangled states and coherent matter waves for a wide range of experiments in quantum optics.

Ultracold Atoms in a Square Lattice with Spin-Orbit Coupling: Charge Order, Superfluidity, and Topological Signatures

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenberg, Peter; Shi, Hao; Zhang, Shiwei

2017-12-01

We present an ab initio, numerically exact study of attractive fermions in square lattices with Rashba spin-orbit coupling. The ground state of this system is a supersolid, with coexisting charge and superfluid order. The superfluid is composed of both singlet and triplet pairs induced by spin-orbit coupling. We perform large-scale calculations using the auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo method to provide the first full, quantitative description of the charge, spin, and pairing properties of the system. In addition to characterizing the exotic physics, our results will serve as essential high-accuracy benchmarks for the intense theoretical and especially experimental efforts in ultracold atoms to realize and understand an expanding variety of quantum Hall and topological superconductor systems.

Magnetic transport apparatus for the production of ultracold atomic gases in the vicinity of a dielectric surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haendel, S.; Marchant, A. L.; Wiles, T. P.; Hopkins, S. A.; Cornish, S. L.

2012-01-01

We present an apparatus designed for studies of atom-surface interactions using quantum degenerate gases of 85 Rb and 87 Rb in the vicinity of a room temperature dielectric surface. The surface to be investigated is a super-polished face of a glass Dove prism mounted in a glass cell under ultra-high vacuum. To maintain excellent optical access to the region surrounding the surface, magnetic transport is used to deliver ultracold atoms from a separate vacuum chamber housing the magneto-optical trap (MOT). We present a detailed description of the vacuum apparatus highlighting the novel design features; a low profile MOT chamber and the inclusion of an obstacle in the transport path. We report the characterization and optimization of the magnetic transport around the obstacle, achieving transport efficiencies of 70% with negligible heating. Finally, we demonstrate the loading of a hybrid optical-magnetic trap with 87 Rb and the creation of Bose-Einstein condensates via forced evaporative cooling close to the dielectric surface.

Superfluidity and BCS-BEC crossover of ultracold atomic Fermi gases in mixed dimensions

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Leifeng; Chen, Qijin

Atomic Fermi gases have been under active investigation in the past decade. Here we study the superfluid and pairing phenomena of a two-component ultracold atomic Fermi gas in the presence of mixed dimensionality, in which one component is confined on a 1D optical lattice whereas the other is free in the 3D continuum. We assume a short-range pairing interaction and determine the superfluid transition temperature Tc and the phase diagram for the entire BCS-BEC crossover, using a pairing fluctuation theory which includes self-consistently the contributions of finite momentum pairs. We find that, as the lattice depth increases and the lattice spacing decreases, the behavior of Tc becomes very similar to that of a population imbalance Fermi gas in a simple 3D continuum. There is no superfluidity even at T = 0 below certain threshold of pairing strength in the BCS regime. Nonmonotonic Tc behavior and intermediate temperature superfluidity emerge, and for deep enough lattice, the Tc curve will split into two parts. Implications for experiment will be discussed. References: 1. Q.J. Chen, Ioan Kosztin, B. Janko, and K. Levin, Phys. Rev. B 59, 7083 (1999). 2. Chih-Chun Chien, Qijin Chen, Yan He, and K. Levin, Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 090402(2006). Work supported by NSF of China and the National Basic Research Program of China.

Collisional Cooling of Light Ions by Cotrapped Heavy Atoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Dutta, Sourav; Sawant, Rahul; Rangwala, S A

2017-03-17

We experimentally demonstrate cooling of trapped ions by collisions with cotrapped, higher-mass neutral atoms. It is shown that the lighter ^{39}K^{+} ions, created by ionizing ^{39}K atoms in a magneto-optical trap (MOT), when trapped in an ion trap and subsequently allowed to cool by collisions with ultracold, heavier ^{85}Rb atoms in a MOT, exhibit a longer trap lifetime than without the localized ^{85}Rb MOT atoms. A similar cooling of trapped ^{85}Rb^{+} ions by ultracold ^{133}Cs atoms in a MOT is also demonstrated in a different experimental configuration to validate this mechanism of ion cooling by localized and centered ultracold neutral atoms. Our results suggest that the cooling of ions by localized cold atoms holds for any mass ratio, thereby enabling studies on a wider class of atom-ion systems irrespective of their masses.

Magnetic-film atom chip with 10 μm period lattices of microtraps for quantum information science with Rydberg atoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Leung, V Y F; Pijn, D R M; Schlatter, H; Torralbo-Campo, L; La Rooij, A L; Mulder, G B; Naber, J; Soudijn, M L; Tauschinsky, A; Abarbanel, C; Hadad, B; Golan, E; Folman, R; Spreeuw, R J C

2014-05-01

We describe the fabrication and construction of a setup for creating lattices of magnetic microtraps for ultracold atoms on an atom chip. The lattice is defined by lithographic patterning of a permanent magnetic film. Patterned magnetic-film atom chips enable a large variety of trapping geometries over a wide range of length scales. We demonstrate an atom chip with a lattice constant of 10 μm, suitable for experiments in quantum information science employing the interaction between atoms in highly excited Rydberg energy levels. The active trapping region contains lattice regions with square and hexagonal symmetry, with the two regions joined at an interface. A structure of macroscopic wires, cutout of a silver foil, was mounted under the atom chip in order to load ultracold (87)Rb atoms into the microtraps. We demonstrate loading of atoms into the square and hexagonal lattice sections simultaneously and show resolved imaging of individual lattice sites. Magnetic-film lattices on atom chips provide a versatile platform for experiments with ultracold atoms, in particular for quantum information science and quantum simulation.

Magnetic-film atom chip with 10 μm period lattices of microtraps for quantum information science with Rydberg atoms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leung, V. Y. F. [Van der Waals-Zeeman Institute, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, PO Box 94485, 1090 GL Amsterdam (Netherlands); Complex Photonic Systems (COPS), MESA Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, PO Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede (Netherlands); Pijn, D. R. M.; Schlatter, H.; Torralbo-Campo, L.; La Rooij, A. L.; Mulder, G. B.; Naber, J.; Soudijn, M. L.; Tauschinsky, A.; Spreeuw, R. J. C., E-mail: r.j.c.spreeuw@uva.nl [Van der Waals-Zeeman Institute, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, PO Box 94485, 1090 GL Amsterdam (Netherlands); Abarbanel, C.; Hadad, B.; Golan, E. [Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be' er Sheva 84105 (Israel); Folman, R. [Department of Physics and Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be' er Sheva 84105 (Israel)

2014-05-15

We describe the fabrication and construction of a setup for creating lattices of magnetic microtraps for ultracold atoms on an atom chip. The lattice is defined by lithographic patterning of a permanent magnetic film. Patterned magnetic-film atom chips enable a large variety of trapping geometries over a wide range of length scales. We demonstrate an atom chip with a lattice constant of 10 μm, suitable for experiments in quantum information science employing the interaction between atoms in highly excited Rydberg energy levels. The active trapping region contains lattice regions with square and hexagonal symmetry, with the two regions joined at an interface. A structure of macroscopic wires, cutout of a silver foil, was mounted under the atom chip in order to load ultracold {sup 87}Rb atoms into the microtraps. We demonstrate loading of atoms into the square and hexagonal lattice sections simultaneously and show resolved imaging of individual lattice sites. Magnetic-film lattices on atom chips provide a versatile platform for experiments with ultracold atoms, in particular for quantum information science and quantum simulation.

Limit Cycles and Chaos via Quasi-periodicity in Two Coupled Ensembles of Ultra-cold Atoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Patra, Aniket; Yuzbashyan, Emil; Altshuler, Boris

We study the dynamics of two mesoscopic ensembles of ultra-cold two level atoms, which are collectively coupled to an optical cavity and are being pumped incoherently to the excited state. Whereas the time independent steady states are well understood, little is known about the time dependent ones. We explore and categorize various time dependent steady states, e.g. limit cycles and chaotic behavior. We draw a non-equilibrium phase diagram indicating different steady-state behaviors in different parts of the parameter space. We discuss the synchronization of the two ensembles in the time dependent steady states. We also show the onset of chaos via quasi-periodicity. The rich time dependent steady-state behavior, especially the existence of chaos, opens up possibilities for several engineering applications. Supported in part by the University and Louis Bevier Graduate Fellowship.

Ultra-cold molecule production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramirez-Serrano, Jamie; Chandler, David W.; Strecker, Kevin; Rahn, Larry A.

2005-01-01

The production of Ultra-cold molecules is a goal of many laboratories through out the world. Here we are pursuing a unique technique that utilizes the kinematics of atomic and molecular collisions to achieve the goal of producing substantial numbers of sub Kelvin molecules confined in a trap. Here a trap is defined as an apparatus that spatially localizes, in a known location in the laboratory, a sample of molecules whose temperature is below one degree absolute Kelvin. Further, the storage time for the molecules must be sufficient to measure and possibly further cool the molecules. We utilize a technique unique to Sandia to form cold molecules from near mass degenerate collisions between atoms and molecules. This report describes the progress we have made using this novel technique and the further progress towards trapping molecules we have cooled

Formation of ultracold NaRb Feshbach molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Fudong; He, Xiaodong; Li, Xiaoke; Zhu, Bing; Chen, Jun; Wang, Dajun

2015-01-01

We report the creation of ultracold bosonic 23 Na 87 Rb Feshbach molecules via magneto-association. By ramping the magnetic field across an interspecies Feshbach resonance (FR), at least 4000 molecules can be produced out of the near degenerate ultracold mixture. Fast loss due to inelastic atom–molecule collisions is observed, which limits the pure molecule number, after residual atoms removal, to 1700. The pure molecule sample can live for 21.8(8) ms in the optical trap, long enough for future molecular spectroscopy studies toward coherently transferring to the singlet ro-vibrational ground state, where these molecules are stable against chemical reaction and have a permanent electric dipole moment of 3.3 Debye. We have also measured the Feshbach molecule’s binding energy near the FR by the oscillating magnetic field method and found these molecules have a large closed-channel fraction. (paper)

Observation of symmetry-protected topological band with ultracold fermions

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Bo; Zhang, Long; He, Chengdong; Poon, Ting Fung Jeffrey; Hajiyev, Elnur; Zhang, Shanchao; Liu, Xiong-Jun; Jo, Gyu-Boong

2018-01-01

Symmetry plays a fundamental role in understanding complex quantum matter, particularly in classifying topological quantum phases, which have attracted great interests in the recent decade. An outstanding example is the time-reversal invariant topological insulator, a symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phase in the symplectic class of the Altland-Zirnbauer classification. We report the observation for ultracold atoms of a noninteracting SPT band in a one-dimensional optical lattice and study quench dynamics between topologically distinct regimes. The observed SPT band can be protected by a magnetic group and a nonlocal chiral symmetry, with the band topology being measured via Bloch states at symmetric momenta. The topology also resides in far-from-equilibrium spin dynamics, which are predicted and observed in experiment to exhibit qualitatively distinct behaviors in quenching to trivial and nontrivial regimes, revealing two fundamental types of spin-relaxation dynamics related to bulk topology. This work opens the way to expanding the scope of SPT physics with ultracold atoms and studying nonequilibrium quantum dynamics in these exotic systems. PMID:29492457

Ultracold Dipolar Gases in Optical Lattices

OpenAIRE

Trefzger, C.; Menotti, C.; Capogrosso-Sansone, B.; Lewenstein, M.

2011-01-01

This tutorial is a theoretical work, in which we study the physics of ultra-cold dipolar bosonic gases in optical lattices. Such gases consist of bosonic atoms or molecules that interact via dipolar forces, and that are cooled below the quantum degeneracy temperature, typically in the nK range. When such a degenerate quantum gas is loaded into an optical lattice produced by standing waves of laser light, new kinds of physical phenomena occur. These systems realize then extended Hubbard-type m...

Atom interferometry with trapped Bose-Einstein condensates: impact of atom-atom interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grond, Julian; Hohenester, Ulrich; Mazets, Igor; Schmiedmayer, Joerg

2010-01-01

Interferometry with ultracold atoms promises the possibility of ultraprecise and ultrasensitive measurements in many fields of physics, and is the basis of our most precise atomic clocks. Key to a high sensitivity is the possibility to achieve long measurement times and precise readout. Ultracold atoms can be precisely manipulated at the quantum level and can be held for very long times in traps; they would therefore be an ideal setting for interferometry. In this paper, we discuss how the nonlinearities from atom-atom interactions, on the one hand, allow us to efficiently produce squeezed states for enhanced readout and, on the other hand, result in phase diffusion that limits the phase accumulation time. We find that low-dimensional geometries are favorable, with two-dimensional (2D) settings giving the smallest contribution of phase diffusion caused by atom-atom interactions. Even for time sequences generated by optimal control, the achievable minimal detectable interaction energy ΔE min is of the order of 10 -4 μ, where μ is the chemical potential of the Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) in the trap. From these we have to conclude that for more precise measurements with atom interferometers, more sophisticated strategies, or turning off the interaction-induced dephasing during the phase accumulation stage, will be necessary.

Mixtures of ultracold atoms and the quest for ultracold molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weidemueller, M.

2000-08-01

A cold atomic gas formed by two different species represents an intriguing system for a deeper understanding of atom-atom interactions at ultralow temperatures. We present experiments on a mixture of atomic lithium and cesium which are of particular interest regarding the formation of heteronuclear molecules on the one hand, and the prospects for sympathetic cooling of atomic gases through mutual thermalization on the other hand. A first series of experiments on interaction in presence of a near-resonant light field is performed in a two-species magneto-optical trap. The collisional properties of the lithium-cesium mixture are investigated through detailed analysis of trap-loss processes induced by the trap light. Photoassociation in an additional near-resonant laser field yields high-resolution spectra of the excited Cs 2 dimers, but shows no unambiguous indication of LiCs molecule formation. A second series of experiments on pure ground-state collisional properties utilizes an optical dipole trap formed by light that is detuned extremely far below atomic resonance (quasi-electrostatic trap). Storage times of many minutes are achieved in a particularly simple and versatile setup for both atomic species. Cooling of cesium through evaporation and thermalization by elastic collisions is observed. The evolution of temperature and particle number is compared with model simulations of evaporative cooling. Direct laser cooling of trapped cesium in the absolute energetic ground state is demonstrated. Homonuclear spin-changing collisions of ground-state cesium and lithium atoms are analyzed, and first evidence for pure ground-state collisions between atoms of different species is found. Based on the current achievements, prospects for future experiments are discussed. (orig.)

Quantum Fluctuations of Vortex Lattices in Ultracold Gases

OpenAIRE

Kwasigroch, M. P.; Cooper, N. R.

2012-01-01

We discuss the effects of quantum fluctuations on the properties of vortex lattices in rapidly rotating ultracold atomic gases. We develop a variational method that goes beyond the Bogoliubov theory by including the effects of interactions between the quasiparticle excitations. These interactions are found to have significant quantitative effects on physical properties even at relatively large filling factors. We use our theory to predict the expected experimental signatures of quantum fluctu...

Single-atom detection on a chip: from realization to application

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stibor, A; Bender, H; Kuehnhold, S; Fortagh, J; Zimmermann, C; Guenther, A, E-mail: aguenth@pit.physik.uni-tuebingen.d [CQ Center for Collective Quantum Phenomena and their Applications, Eberhard-Karls-Universitaet Tuebingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 14, D-72076 Tuebingen (Germany)

2010-06-15

In this paper, we describe the preparation and detection of ultracold atoms on a microchip with single-atom sensitivity. The detection scheme is based on multi-photon ionization of atoms and the subsequent guiding of the generated ions by ion optics to a channel electron multiplier. We resolve single atoms with a detection efficiency above 60%. The detector is suitable for real-time observations of static and dynamic processes in ultracold quantum gases. Although the ionization is destructive, sampling a small subset of the atomic distribution is sufficient for the determination of the desired information. We take full high-resolution spectra of ultracold atoms by ionizing only 5% of the atoms. Using an additional microwave near 6.8 GHz, the detection scheme becomes energy, position and state selective. This can be used for in situ determination of the energy distribution and temperature of atom clouds inside the trap and applied for future correlation measurements.

Magnetic-field gradiometer based on ultracold collisions

Science.gov (United States)

Wasak, Tomasz; Jachymski, Krzysztof; Calarco, Tommaso; Negretti, Antonio

2018-05-01

We present a detailed analysis of the usefulness of ultracold atomic collisions for sensing the strength of an external magnetic field as well as its spatial gradient. The core idea of the sensor, which we recently proposed in Jachymski et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 013401 (2018), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.013401], is to probe the transmission of the atoms through a set of quasi-one-dimensional waveguides that contain an impurity. Magnetic-field-dependent interactions between the incoming atoms and the impurity naturally lead to narrow resonances that can act as sensitive field probes since they strongly affect the transmission. We illustrate our findings with concrete examples of experimental relevance, demonstrating that for large atom fluences N a sensitivity of the order of 1 nT/√{N } for the field strength and 100 nT/(mm √{N }) for the gradient can be reached with our scheme.

Electric-field-modified Feshbach resonances in ultracold atom–molecule collision

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng Dong; Li Ya; Feng Eryin; Huang Wuying

2017-01-01

We present a detailed analysis of near zero-energy Feshbach resonances in ultracold collisions of atom and molecule, taking the He–PH system as an example, subject to superimposed electric and magnetic static fields. We find that the electric field can induce Feshbach resonance which cannot occur when only a magnetic field is applied, through couplings of the adjacent rotational states of different parities. We show that the electric field can shift the position of the magnetic Feshbach resonance, and change the amplitude of resonance significantly. Finally, we demonstrate that, for narrow magnetic Feshbach resonance as in most cases of ultracold atom–molecule collision, the electric field may be used to modulate the resonance, because the width of resonance in electric field scale is relatively larger than that in magnetic field scale. (paper)

Optical trapping and Feshbach spectroscopy of an ultracold Rb-Cs mixture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pilch, K.

2009-01-01

We investigate quantum-mechanical interactions between ultracold rubidium and cesium in an optical trap at temperatures of a few micro kelvin. Our results provide, on the one hand, an experimental key to understand the collisional properties and, on the other hand, a tool to control the interspecies interactions. By performing loss measurements we locate several Feshbach resonances, which provide insight into the energy structure of weakly bound RbCs molecules near the dissociation threshold and allow for the production of such heteronuclear Feshbach molecules. In the future we will transfer these loosely-bound molecules into the absolute internal ground state. The availability of ultracold heteronuclear ground state molecules will open the door to investigate phenomena associated with ultracold polar quantum gases. In our new experimental set-up we are able to trap and cool rubidium and cesium atoms in their lowest internal states. First we load both species into a two-color magneto-optical trap, having full control over the single-species atom number. We extend the technique of degenerate Raman-sideband cooling to a two-color version, which is able to simultaneously cool and polarize both rubidium and cesium. Thereafter we load the atoms into a levitated crossed optical dipole trap. Because of the presence of the gradient magnetic field the trap is highly state selective and consequently provides perfect spin-polarization of the sample. Furthermore, a coincidence of the magnetic-moment-to-mass ratios of the two species allows for simultaneous levitation of both, which assures an almost perfect spatial overlap between the species. We perform Feshbach spectroscopy in two dierent spin channels of the mixture within a magnetic field ranging from 20 to 300 Gauss. In the lowest spin combination of the species we locate 23 interspecies Feshbach resonances, while in a higher spin mixture we find 2 resonances. The high number of resonances found within this range of

An ultracold, optically trapped mixture of 87Rb and metastable 4He atoms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Flores, A.S.; Mishra, H.P.; Vassen, Wim; Knoop, S.

2017-01-01

We report on the realization of an ultracold (<25 μK) mixture of rubidium (87Rb) and metastable triplet helium (4He) in an optical dipole trap. Our scheme involves laser cooling in a dual-species magneto-optical trap, simultaneous MW- and RF-induced forced evaporative cooling in a quadrupole

Soliton Trains Induced by Adaptive Shaping with Periodic Traps in Four-Level Ultracold Atom Systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Djouom Tchenkoue, M. L.; Welakuh Mbangheku, D.; Dikandé, Alain M.

2017-01-01

It is well known that an optical trap can be imprinted by a light field in an ultracold-atom system embedded in an optical cavity, and driven by three different coherent fields. Of the three fields coexisting in the optical cavity there is an intense control field that induces a giant Kerr nonlinearity via electromagnetically-induced transparency, and another field that creates a periodic optical grating of strength proportional to the square of the associated Rabi frequency. In this work elliptic-soliton solutions to the nonlinear equation governing the propagation of the probe field are considered, with emphasis on the possible generation of optical soliton trains forming a discrete spectrum with well defined quantum numbers. The problem is treated assuming two distinct types of periodic optical gratings and taking into account the negative and positive signs of detunings (detuning above or below resonance). Results predict that the competition between the self-phase and cross-phase modulation nonlinearities gives rise to a rich family of temporal soliton train modes characterized by distinct quantum numbers. (paper)

Soliton Trains Induced by Adaptive Shaping with Periodic Traps in Four-Level Ultracold Atom Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Djouom Tchenkoue, M. L.; Welakuh Mbangheku, D.; Dikandé, Alain M.

2017-06-01

It is well known that an optical trap can be imprinted by a light field in an ultracold-atom system embedded in an optical cavity, and driven by three different coherent fields. Of the three fields coexisting in the optical cavity there is an intense control field that induces a giant Kerr nonlinearity via electromagnetically-induced transparency, and another field that creates a periodic optical grating of strength proportional to the square of the associated Rabi frequency. In this work elliptic-soliton solutions to the nonlinear equation governing the propagation of the probe field are considered, with emphasis on the possible generation of optical soliton trains forming a discrete spectrum with well defined quantum numbers. The problem is treated assuming two distinct types of periodic optical gratings and taking into account the negative and positive signs of detunings (detuning above or below resonance). Results predict that the competition between the self-phase and cross-phase modulation nonlinearities gives rise to a rich family of temporal soliton train modes characterized by distinct quantum numbers.

The production and storage of ultracold neutrons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoshiki, Hajime [Kure University, Hiroshima (Japan); Shimizu, Hirohiko; Sakai, Kenji [and others

1998-01-01

The electric dipole measurement done on the ultracold neutron till now shows that its quantity is minute, not more than 10{sup -25}e.cm. It is purpose of this particular research program to produce such very slow neutrons, or so-cold ultracold neutrons in great quantity. Then, it was investigated what was the ultracold neutron important for, how is the ultracold neutron made, and how is very pure superfluid liquid helium made. As a result of these investigations, it was found that the validity of ultracold neutron production by superfluid liquid helium was established, that its efficiency is high enough to improve the neutron electric dipole moment detection sensitivity by at least one order of magnitude, and so forth. (G.K.)

Ultracold molecules: vehicles to scalable quantum information processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brickman Soderberg, Kathy-Anne; Gemelke, Nathan; Chin Cheng

2009-01-01

In this paper, we describe a novel scheme to implement scalable quantum information processing using Li-Cs molecular states to entangle 6 Li and 133 Cs ultracold atoms held in independent optical lattices. The 6 Li atoms will act as quantum bits to store information and 133 Cs atoms will serve as messenger bits that aid in quantum gate operations and mediate entanglement between distant qubit atoms. Each atomic species is held in a separate optical lattice and the atoms can be overlapped by translating the lattices with respect to each other. When the messenger and qubit atoms are overlapped, targeted single-spin operations and entangling operations can be performed by coupling the atomic states to a molecular state with radio-frequency pulses. By controlling the frequency and duration of the radio-frequency pulses, entanglement can be either created or swapped between a qubit messenger pair. We estimate operation fidelities for entangling two distant qubits and discuss scalability of this scheme and constraints on the optical lattice lasers. Finally we demonstrate experimental control of the optical potentials sufficient to translate atoms in the lattice.

Diatomic molecules in ultracold Fermi gases - Novel composite bosons

OpenAIRE

Petrov, D. S.; Salomon, C.; Shlyapnikov, G. V.

2005-01-01

We give a brief overview of recent studies of weakly bound homonuclear molecules in ultracold two-component Fermi gases. It is emphasized that they represent novel composite bosons, which exhibit features of Fermi statistics at short intermolecular distances. In particular, Pauli exclusion principle for identical fermionic atoms provides a strong suppression of collisional relaxation of such molecules into deep bound states. We then analyze heteronuclear molecules which are expected to be for...

Numerical methods for atomic quantum gases with applications to Bose-Einstein condensates and to ultracold fermions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minguzzi, A.; Succi, S.; Toschi, F.; Tosi, M.P.; Vignolo, P.

2004-01-01

The achievement of Bose-Einstein condensation in ultra-cold vapours of alkali atoms has given enormous impulse to the study of dilute atomic gases in condensed quantum states inside magnetic traps and optical lattices. High-purity and easy optical access make them ideal candidates to investigate fundamental issues on interacting quantum systems. This review presents some theoretical issues which have been addressed in this area and the numerical techniques which have been developed and used to describe them, from mean-field models to classical and quantum simulations for equilibrium and dynamical properties. After an introductory overview on dilute quantum gases, both in the homogeneus state and under harmonic or periodic confinement, the article is organized in three main sections. The first concerns Bose-condensed gases at zero temperature, with main regard to the properties of the ground state in different confinements and to collective excitations and transport in the condensate. Bose-Einstein-condensed gases at finite temperature are addressed in the next section, the main emphasis being on equilibrium properties and phase transitions and on dynamical and transport properties associated with the presence of the thermal cloud. Finally, the last section is focused on theoretical and computational issues that have emerged from the efforts to drive gases of fermionic atoms and boson-fermion mixtures deep into the quantum degeneracy regime, with the aim of realizing novel superfluids from fermion pairing. The attention given in this article to methods beyond standard mean-field approaches should make it a useful reference point for future advances in these areas

Quantifying, characterizing, and controlling information flow in ultracold atomic gases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haikka, P.; McEndoo, S.; Maniscalco, S.; De Chiara, G.; Palma, G. M.

2011-01-01

We study quantum information flow in a model comprised of a trapped impurity qubit immersed in a Bose-Einstein-condensed reservoir. We demonstrate how information flux between the qubit and the condensate can be manipulated by engineering the ultracold reservoir within experimentally realistic limits. We show that this system undergoes a transition from Markovian to non-Markovian dynamics, which can be controlled by changing key parameters such as the condensate scattering length. In this way, one can realize a quantum simulator of both Markovian and non-Markovian open quantum systems, the latter ones being characterized by a reverse flow of information from the background gas (reservoir) to the impurity (system).

Strongly-correlated ultracold atoms in optical lattices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dao, Tung-Lam

2008-01-01

This thesis is concerned with the theoretical study of strongly correlated quantum states of ultra-cold fermionic atoms trapped in optical lattices. This field has grown considerably in recent years, following the experimental progress made in cooling and controlling atomic gases, which has led to the observation of the first Bose-Einstein condensation (in 1995). The trapping of these gases in optical lattices has opened a new field of research at the interface between atomic physics and condensed matter physics. The observation of the transition from a superfluid to a Mott insulator for bosonic atoms paved the way for the study of strongly correlated phases and quantum phase transitions in these systems. Very recently, the investigation of the Mott insulator state of fermionic atoms provides additional motivation to conduct such theoretical studies. This thesis can be divided broadly into two types of work: - On the one hand, we have proposed a new type of spectroscopy to measure single-particle correlators and associated physical observables in these strongly correlated states. - On the other hand, we have studied the ground state of the fermionic Hubbard model under different conditions (mass imbalance, population imbalance) by using analytical techniques and numerical simulations. In a collaboration with J. Dalibard and C. Salomon (LKB at the ENS Paris) and I. Carusotto (Trento, Italy), we have proposed and studied a novel spectroscopic method for the measurement and characterization of single particle excitations (in particular, the low energy excitations, namely the quasiparticles) in systems of cold fermionic atoms, with energy and momentum resolution. This type of spectroscopy is an analogue of angular-resolved photoemission in solid state physics (ARPES). We have shown, via simple models, that this method of measurement can characterize quasiparticles not only in the 'conventional' phases such as the weakly interacting gas in the lattice or in Fermi

Strongly correlated quantum fluids: ultracold quantum gases, quantum chromodynamic plasmas and holographic duality

OpenAIRE

Adams, Allan; Carr, Lincoln D.; Schafer, Thomas; Steinberg, Peter; Thomas, John E.

2012-01-01

Strongly correlated quantum fluids are phases of matter that are intrinsically quantum mechanical, and that do not have a simple description in terms of weakly interacting quasi-particles. Two systems that have recently attracted a great deal of interest are the quark-gluon plasma, a plasma of strongly interacting quarks and gluons produced in relativistic heavy ion collisions, and ultracold atomic Fermi gases, very dilute clouds of atomic gases confined in optical or magnetic traps. These sy...

Advances in ultracold collisions: Experimentation and theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weiner, J.

1995-01-01

Collisions between optically cooled and trapped atoms have been the subject of intensive investigation since early proposals discussed their novel features and key importance to the achievement of a gaseous ensemble in a single quantum state. Progress in both experimentation and theory has accelerated rapidly over the last three years, and two reviews, one emphasizing theory and the other, experiments, recount the state of the art published up to about the midpoint of 1993. The purpose of this chapter is to update continuing lines of research set forth in these and earlier works and to relate new results, establishing novel directions for investigation that have appeared in the literature. Two principal questions motivate research into the nature of ultracold collisions: (1) what new phenomena arise when collisionally interacting particles also exchange photons with modes of the radiation field and (2) what are the important two-body collisional heating mechanisms and how can they be overcome in order to achieve the temperature and density conditions appropriate for Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC)? In fact these two questions are not mutually exclusive, and one of the most notable developments in the past year, relevant to both, has been the demonstration of optical control of two-body ultracold collisional processes. Other important issues touching, on one or both of these questions are the magnitude and sign of the scattering length in s-wave collisions between species in various well-defined quantum states, progress in high-resolution trap loss and photoassociation spectroscopy, and application of optical cooling and compression to atomic beams. 58 refs., 21 figs

Storage ring to investigate cold unidimensional atomic collisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marcassa, L. G.; Caires, A. R. L.; Nascimento, V. A.; Dulieu, O.; Weiner, J.; Bagnato, V. S.

2005-01-01

In this paper we employ a circulating ring of trapped atoms, that we have named the atomotron, to study cold collisions. The atomotron is obtained from a conventional magneto-optical trap when the two pairs of normally retroreflecting Gaussian laser beams in the x-y plane are slightly offset. Circulating stable atomic orbits then form a racetrack geometry in this plane. The circulating atom flux behaves similarly to an atomic beam with an average tangential velocity much greater than the transverse components, and is therefore suitable for one-dimensional atomic collision studies. Using the atomotron, we have investigated the polarization dependence of ultracold photoassociation collisions between Rb atoms circulating in the racetrack. The ability to investigate collisions in ultracold circulating atomic rings reveals alignment and orientation properties that are averaged away in ordinary three-dimensional magneto-optical trap collision processes

Optical ferris wheel for ultracold atoms

Science.gov (United States)

Franke-Arnold, S.; Leach, J.; Padgett, M. J.; Lembessis, V. E.; Ellinas, D.; Wright, A. J.; Girkin, J. M.; Ohberg, P.; Arnold, A. S.

2007-07-01

We propose a versatile optical ring lattice suitable for trapping cold and quantum degenerate atomic samples. We demonstrate the realisation of intensity patterns from pairs of Laguerre-Gauss (exp(iℓө) modes with different ℓ indices. These patterns can be rotated by introducing a frequency shift between the modes. We can generate bright ring lattices for trapping atoms in red-detuned light, and dark ring lattices suitable for trapping atoms with minimal heating in the optical vortices of blue-detuned light. The lattice sites can be joined to form a uniform ring trap, making it ideal for studying persistent currents and the Mott insulator transition in a ring geometry.

On the theory of ultracold neutrons scattering by Davydov solitons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brizhik, L.S.

1984-01-01

Elastic coherent scattering of ultracold neutrons by Davydov solitons in one-dimensional periodic molecular chains without account of thermal oscillations of chain atoms is studied. It is shown that the expression for the differential cross section of the elastic neutron scattering by Davydov soliton breaks down into two components. One of them corresponds to scattering by a resting soliton, the other is proportional to the soliton velocity and has a sharp maximum in the direction of mirror reflection of neutrons from the chain

Quantum coherent tractor beam effect for atoms trapped near a nanowaveguide

Science.gov (United States)

Sadgrove, Mark; Wimberger, Sandro; Nic Chormaic, Síle

2016-01-01

We propose several schemes to realize a tractor beam effect for ultracold atoms in the vicinity of a few-mode nanowaveguide. Atoms trapped near the waveguide are transported in a direction opposite to the guided mode propagation direction. We analyse three specific examples for ultracold 23Na atoms trapped near a specific nanowaveguide (i.e. an optical nanofibre): (i) a conveyor belt-type tractor beam effect, (ii) an accelerator tractor beam effect, and (iii) a quantum coherent tractor beam effect, all of which can effectively pull atoms along the nanofibre toward the light source. This technique provides a new tool for controlling the motion of particles near nanowaveguides with potential applications in the study of particle transport and binding as well as atom interferometry. PMID:27440516

Ultracold molecules for the masses: Evaporative cooling and magneto-optical trapping

Science.gov (United States)

Stuhl, B. K.

While cold molecule experiments are rapidly moving towards their promised benefits of precision spectroscopy, controllable chemistry, and novel condensed phases, heretofore the field has been greatly limited by a lack of methods to cool and compress chemically diverse species to temperatures below ten millikelvin. While in atomic physics these needs are fulfilled by laser cooling, magneto-optical trapping, and evaporative cooling, until now none of these techniques have been applicable to molecules. In this thesis, two major breakthroughs are reported. The first is the observation of evaporative cooling in magnetically trapped hydroxyl (OH) radicals, which potentially opens a path all the way to Bose-Einstein condensation of dipolar radicals, as well as allowing cold- and ultracold-chemistry studies of fundamental reaction mechanisms. Through the combination of an extremely high gradient magnetic quadrupole trap and the use of the OH Λ-doublet transition to enable highly selective forced evaporation, cooling by an order of magnitude in temperature was achieved and yielded a final temperature no higher than 5mK. The second breakthrough is the successful application of laser cooling and magneto-optical trapping to molecules. Motivated by a proposal in this thesis, laser cooling of molecules is now known to be technically feasible in a select but substantial pool of diatomic molecules. The demonstration of not only Doppler cooling but also two-dimensional magneto-optical trapping in yttrium (II) oxide, YO, is expected to enable rapid growth in the availability of ultracold molecules—just as the invention of the atomic magneto-optical trap stimulated atomic physics twenty-five years ago.

Comparing and contrasting nuclei and cold atomic gases

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zinner, Nikolaj Thomas; Jensen, Aksel Stenholm

2013-01-01

The experimental revolution in ultracold atomic gas physics over the past decades has brought tremendous amounts of new insight to the world of degenerate quantum systems. Here we compare and contrast the developments of cold atomic gases with the physics of nuclei since many concepts, techniques......, and nomenclatures are common to both fields. However, nuclei are finite systems with interactions that are typically much more complicated than those of ultracold atomic gases. The similarities and differences must therefore be carefully addressed for a meaningful comparison and to facilitate fruitful......, interactions, and relevant length and energy scales of cold atoms and nuclei. Next we address some attempts in nuclear physics to transfer the concepts of condensates in nuclei that can in principle be built from bosonic alpha-particle constituents. We also consider Efimov physics, a prime example of nuclear...

Use of ultracold neutrons for condensed-matter studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Michaudon, A.

1997-05-01

Ultracold neutrons have such low velocities that they are reflected by most materials at all incident angles and can be stored in material bottles for long periods of time during which their intrinsic properties can be studied in great detail. These features have been mainly used for fundamental-physics studies including the detection of a possible neutron electric dipole moment and the precise determination of neutron-decay properties. Ultracold neutrons can also play a role in condensed-matter studies with the help of high-resolution spectrometers that use gravity as a strongly dispersive medium for low-velocity neutrons. Such studies have so far been limited by the low intensity of existing ultracold-neutron sources but could be reconsidered with more intense sources, which are now envisaged. This report provides a broad survey of the properties of ultracold neutrons (including their reflectivity by different types of samples), of ultracold-neutron spectrometers that are compared with other high-resolution instruments, of results obtained in the field of condensed matter with these instruments, and of neutron microscopes. All these subjects are illustrated by numerous examples.

Use of ultracold neutrons for condensed-matter studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Michaudon, A.

1997-05-01

Ultracold neutrons have such low velocities that they are reflected by most materials at all incident angles and can be stored in material bottles for long periods of time during which their intrinsic properties can be studied in great detail. These features have been mainly used for fundamental-physics studies including the detection of a possible neutron electric dipole moment and the precise determination of neutron-decay properties. Ultracold neutrons can also play a role in condensed-matter studies with the help of high-resolution spectrometers that use gravity as a strongly dispersive medium for low-velocity neutrons. Such studies have so far been limited by the low intensity of existing ultracold-neutron sources but could be reconsidered with more intense sources, which are now envisaged. This report provides a broad survey of the properties of ultracold neutrons (including their reflectivity by different types of samples), of ultracold-neutron spectrometers that are compared with other high-resolution instruments, of results obtained in the field of condensed matter with these instruments, and of neutron microscopes. All these subjects are illustrated by numerous examples

Evidence of Antiblockade in an Ultracold Rydberg Gas

Science.gov (United States)

Amthor, Thomas; Giese, Christian; Hofmann, Christoph S.; Weidemüller, Matthias

2010-01-01

We present the experimental observation of the antiblockade in an ultracold Rydberg gas recently proposed by Ates et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 023002 (2007)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.98.023002]. Our approach allows the control of the pair distribution in the gas and is based on a strong coupling of one transition in an atomic three-level system, while introducing specific detunings of the other transition. When the coupling energy matches the interaction energy of the Rydberg long-range interactions, the otherwise blocked excitation of close pairs becomes possible. A time-resolved spectroscopic measurement of the Penning ionization signal is used to identify slight variations in the Rydberg pair distribution of a random arrangement of atoms. A model based on a pair interaction Hamiltonian is presented which well reproduces our experimental observations and allows one to deduce the distribution of nearest-neighbor distances.

Rapid prototyping of versatile atom chips for atom interferometry applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Kasch, Brian; Squires, Matthew; Olson, Spencer; Kroese, Bethany; Imhof, Eric; Kohn, Rudolph; Stuhl, Benjamin; Schramm, Stacy; Stickney, James

2016-05-01

We present recent advances in the manipulation of ultracold atoms with ex-vacuo atom chips (i.e. atom chips that are not inside to the UHV chamber). Details will be presented of an experimental system that allows direct bonded copper (DBC) atom chips to be removed and replaced in minutes, requiring minimal re-optimization of parameters. This system has been used to create Bose-Einstein condensates, as well as magnetic waveguides with precisely tunable axial parameters, allowing double wells, pure harmonic confinement, and modified harmonic traps. We investigate the effects of higher order magnetic field contributions to the waveguide, and the implications for confined atom interferometry.

Cold atoms close to surfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krüger, Peter; Wildermuth, Stephan; Hofferberth, Sebastian

2005-01-01

Microscopic atom optical devices integrated on atom chips allow to precisely control and manipulate ultra-cold (T atoms and Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) close to surfaces. The relevant energy scale of a BEC is extremely small (down to ... be utilized as a sensor for variations of the potential energy of the atoms close to the surface. Here we describe how to use trapped atoms as a measurement device and analyze the performance and flexibility of the field sensor. We demonstrate microscopic magnetic imaging with simultaneous high spatial...

Hofstadter's butterfly energy spectrum of ultracold fermions on the two-dimensional triangular optical lattice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hou Jingmin; Lu Qingqing

2009-01-01

We study the energy spectrum of ultracold fermionic atoms on the two-dimensional triangular optical lattice subjected to a perpendicular effective magnetic field, which can be realized with laser beams. We derive the generalized Harper's equations and numerically solve them, then we obtain the Hofstadter's butterfly-like energy spectrum, which has a novel fractal structure. The observability of the Hofstadter's butterfly spectrum is also discussed

Interactions of Ultracold Impurity Particles with Bose-Einstein Condensates

Science.gov (United States)

2015-06-23

AFRL-OSR-VA-TR-2015-0141 INTERACTIONS OF ULTRACOLD IMPURITY PARTICLES WITH BOSE- EINSTEIN CONDENSATES Georg Raithel UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Final...SUBTITLE Interactions of ultracold impurity particles with Bose- Einstein Condensates 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER FA9550-10-1-0453 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c...Interactions of ultracold impurity particles with Bose- Einstein Condensates Contract/Grant #: FA9550-10-1-0453 Reporting Period: 8/15/2010 to 2/14

Cold and ultracold molecules: science, technology and applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carr, Lincoln D; DeMille, David; Krems, Roman V; Ye Jun

2009-01-01

This paper presents a review of the current state of the art in the research field of cold and ultracold molecules. It serves as an introduction to the focus issue of New Journal of Physics on Cold and Ultracold Molecules and describes new prospects for fundamental research and technological development. Cold and ultracold molecules may revolutionize physical chemistry and few-body physics, provide techniques for probing new states of quantum matter, allow for precision measurements of both fundamental and applied interest, and enable quantum simulations of condensed-matter phenomena. Ultracold molecules offer promising applications such as new platforms for quantum computing, precise control of molecular dynamics, nanolithography and Bose-enhanced chemistry. The discussion is based on recent experimental and theoretical work and concludes with a summary of anticipated future directions and open questions in this rapidly expanding research field.

Ultracold chromium: a dipolar quantum gas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pfau, T.; Stuhler, J.; Griesmaier, A.; Fattori, M.; Koch, T.

2005-01-01

We report on our recent achievement of a Bose-Einstein condensate in a gas of chromium atoms. Peculiar electronic and magnetic properties of chromium require the implementation of novel cooling strategies. We observe up to ∼ 10 5 condensed 52 Cr atoms after forced evaporation within a crossed optical dipole trap. Due to its large magnetic moment (6μ B ), the dipole-dipole interaction strength in chromium is comparable with the one of the van der Waals interaction. We prove the anisotropic nature of the dipolar interaction by releasing the condensate from a cigar shaped trap and observe, in time of flight measurements, the change of the aspect-ratio for different in-trap orientations of the atomic dipoles. We also report on the recent observation of 14 Feshbach resonances in elastic collisions between polarized ultra-cold 52 Cr atoms. This is the first Ballistic expansion of a dipolar quantum gas: The anisotropic interaction leads to a different expansion dynamics for the case of the magnetic dipoles aligned with the symmetry axis of the cigar shaped trap as compared with the dipoles oriented perpendicular to the axis of the cigar. The straight lines correspond to the theoretical expectation according to mean field theory without free parameters. observation of collisional Feshbach resonances in an atomic species with more than one valence electron. Moreover, such resonances constitute an important tool towards the realization of a purely dipolar interacting gas because they can be used to change strength and sign of the van der Waals interaction. (author)

Optical Studies of Strong Coupling and Recombination in Ultracold Neutral Plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Killian, Thomas C.

2004-01-01

The ultracold atoms and plasmas research group at Rice University uses a combination of atomic and plasma physics techniques to create neutral plasmas that are orders of magnitude colder than have ever been studied before. Through this work, we probe the basic plasma physics of this exotic regime. During the past year, the major components of a new experiment were completed. We demonstrated a powerful new diagnostic, optical imaging of the plasma, which led to a paper that was published in Physical Review Letters. (Figure A, Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 143001 (2004)) This was the central feature of my DOE Junior Faculty Award proposal. DOE funding has been used to support one postdoctoral researcher, multiple graduate students, the principle investigator, apparatus construction, and normal laboratory expenses

Mean-field description of ultracold bosons on disordered two-dimensional optical lattices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buonsante, Pierfrancesco; Massel, Francesco; Penna, Vittorio; Vezzani, Alessandro

2007-01-01

In the present communication, we describe the properties induced by disorder on an ultracold gas of bosonic atoms loaded into a two-dimensional optical lattice with global confinement ensured by a parabolic potential. Our analysis is centred on the spatial distribution of the various phases, focusing particularly on the superfluid properties of the system as a function of external parameters and disorder amplitude. In particular, it is shown how disorder can suppress superfluidity, while partially preserving the system coherence. (fast track communication)

Hybrid quantum systems of ions and atoms

OpenAIRE

Sias, Carlo; Köhl, Michael

2014-01-01

In this chapter we review the progress in experiments with hybrid systems of trapped ions and ultracold neutral atoms. We give a theoretical overview over the atom-ion interactions in the cold regime and give a summary of the most important experimental results. We conclude with an overview of remaining open challenges and possible applications in hybrid quantum systems of ions and neutral atoms.

Atomic rubidium, the workhorse of theoretical collision physics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verhaar, B.; van Kempen, E.; Kokkelmans, S.J.J.M.F.

2008-01-01

Since the first realizations of Bose-Einstein condensates in ultracold atomic gases in 1995, the 85Rb and 87Rb atomic species have acted as the workhorses of experimental developments in this field. Parallel to and partly preceding this work the same isotopes figured also as workhorses for

Damping of electron center-of-mass oscillation in ultracold plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Wei-Ting; Witte, Craig; Roberts, Jacob L.

2016-01-01

Applying a short electric field pulse to an ultracold plasma induces an electron plasma oscillation. This manifests itself as an oscillation of the electron center of mass around the ion center of mass in the ultracold plasma. In general, the oscillation can damp due to either collisionless or collisional mechanisms, or a combination of the both. To investigate the nature of oscillation damping in ultracold plasmas, we developed a molecular dynamics model of the ultracold plasma electrons. Through this model, we found that depending on the neutrality of the ultracold plasma and the size of an applied DC electric field, there are some parameter ranges where the damping is primarily collisional and some primarily collisionless. We conducted experiments to compare the measured damping rate with theory predictions and found them to be in good agreement. Extension of our measurements to different parameter ranges should enable studies for strong-coupling influence on electron-ion collision rates.

Atomic physics precise measurements and ultracold matter

CERN Document Server

Inguscio, Massimo

2013-01-01

Atomic Physics provides an expert guide to two spectacular new landscapes in physics: precision measurements, which have been revolutionized by the advent of the optical frequency comb, and atomic physics, which has been revolutionized by laser cooling. These advances are not incremental but transformative: they have generated a consilience between atomic and many-body physics, precipitated an explosion of scientific and technological applications, opened new areas of research, and attracted a brilliant generation of younger scientists. The research is advancing so rapidly, the barrage of applications is so dazzling, that students can be bewildered. For both students and experienced scientists, this book provides an invaluable description of basic principles, experimental methods, and scientific applications.

A compound parabolic concentrator as an ultracold neutron spectrometer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hickerson, K.P., E-mail: hickerson@gmail.com; Filippone, B.W., E-mail: bradf@caltech.edu

2013-09-01

The design principles of nonimaging optics are applied to ultracold neutrons (UCN). In particular a vertical compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) that efficiently redirects UCN vertically into a bounded spatial volume where they have a maximum energy mga that depends only on the initial phase space cross sectional area πa{sup 2} creates a spectrometer which can be applied to neutron lifetime and gravitational quantum state experiments. -- Highlights: • Nonimaging optics is applied to ultracold neutrons. • A novel ultracold neutron spectrometer is discussed. • New uses may include a neutron lifetime experiment.

A compound parabolic concentrator as an ultracold neutron spectrometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hickerson, K.P.; Filippone, B.W.

2013-01-01

The design principles of nonimaging optics are applied to ultracold neutrons (UCN). In particular a vertical compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) that efficiently redirects UCN vertically into a bounded spatial volume where they have a maximum energy mga that depends only on the initial phase space cross sectional area πa 2 creates a spectrometer which can be applied to neutron lifetime and gravitational quantum state experiments. -- Highlights: • Nonimaging optics is applied to ultracold neutrons. • A novel ultracold neutron spectrometer is discussed. • New uses may include a neutron lifetime experiment

Interaction of antihydrogen with ordinary atoms and solid surfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Froelich, Piotr, E-mail: piotr.froelich@kvac.uu.se; Voronin, Alexei [P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute (Russian Federation)

2012-12-15

The characteristic features of cold atom-antiatom collisions and antiatom-surface interactions are discussed and illustrated by the results for hydrogen-antihydrogen scattering and for quantum reflection of ultracold antihydrogen from a metallic surface. We discuss in some detail the case of spin-exchange in ultracold H-bar - H collisions, exposing the interplay of Coulombic, strong and dispersive forces, and demonstrating the sensitivity of the spin-exchange cross sections to hypothetical violations of Charge-Parity-Time (CPT) symmetry.

Pump-probe study of the formation of rubidium molecules by ultrafast photoassociation of ultracold atoms

Science.gov (United States)

McCabe, David J.; England, Duncan G.; Martay, Hugo E. L.; Friedman, Melissa E.; Petrovic, Jovana; Dimova, Emiliya; Chatel, Béatrice; Walmsley, Ian A.

2009-09-01

An experimental pump-probe study of the photoassociative creation of translationally ultracold rubidium molecules is presented together with numerical simulations of the process. The formation of loosely bound excited-state dimers is observed as a first step toward a fully coherent pump-dump approach to the stabilization of Rb2 into its lowest ground vibrational states. The population that contributes to the pump-probe process is characterized and found to be distinct from a background population of preassociated molecules.

Interatomic interaction effects on second-order momentum correlations and Hong-Ou-Mandel interference of double-well-trapped ultracold fermionic atoms

Science.gov (United States)

Brandt, Benedikt B.; Yannouleas, Constantine; Landman, Uzi

2018-05-01

Identification and understanding of the evolution of interference patterns in two-particle momentum correlations as a function of the strength of interatomic interactions are important in explorations of the nature of quantum states of trapped particles. Together with the analysis of two-particle spatial correlations, they offer the prospect of uncovering fundamental symmetries and structure of correlated many-body states, as well as opening vistas into potential control and utilization of correlated quantum states as quantum-information resources. With the use of the second-order density matrix constructed via exact diagonalization of the microscopic Hamiltonian, and an analytic Hubbard-type model, we explore here the systematic evolution of characteristic interference patterns in the two-body momentum and spatial correlation maps of two entangled ultracold fermionic atoms in a double well, for the entire attractive- and repulsive-interaction range. We uncover quantum-statistics-governed bunching and antibunching, as well as interaction-dependent interference patterns, in the ground and excited states, and interpret our results in light of the Hong-Ou-Mandel interference physics, widely exploited in photon indistinguishability testing and quantum-information science.

Making ultracold molecules in a two color pump-dump photoassociation scheme using chirped pulses

OpenAIRE

Koch, Christiane P.; Luc-Koenig, Eliane; Masnou-Seeuws, Françoise

2005-01-01

This theoretical paper investigates the formation of ground state molecules from ultracold cesium atoms in a two-color scheme. Following previous work on photoassociation with chirped picosecond pulses [Luc-Koenig et al., Phys. Rev. A {\\bf 70}, 033414 (2004)], we investigate stabilization by a second (dump) pulse. By appropriately choosing the dump pulse parameters and time delay with respect to the photoassociation pulse, we show that a large number of deeply bound molecules are created in t...

Using Three-Body Recombination to Extract Electron Temperatures of Ultracold Plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fletcher, R. S.; Zhang, X. L.; Rolston, S. L.

2007-01-01

Three-body recombination, an important collisional process in plasmas, increases dramatically at low electron temperatures, with an accepted scaling of T e -9/2 . We measure three-body recombination in an ultracold neutral xenon plasma by detecting recombination-created Rydberg atoms using a microwave-ionization technique. With the accepted theory (expected to be applicable for weakly coupled plasmas) and our measured rates, we extract the plasma temperatures, which are in reasonable agreement with previous measurements early in the plasma lifetime. The resulting electron temperatures indicate that the plasma continues to cool to temperatures below 1 K

Many-body physics using cold atoms

Science.gov (United States)

Sundar, Bhuvanesh

Advances in experiments on dilute ultracold atomic gases have given us access to highly tunable quantum systems. In particular, there have been substantial improvements in achieving different kinds of interaction between atoms. As a result, utracold atomic gases oer an ideal platform to simulate many-body phenomena in condensed matter physics, and engineer other novel phenomena that are a result of the exotic interactions produced between atoms. In this dissertation, I present a series of studies that explore the physics of dilute ultracold atomic gases in different settings. In each setting, I explore a different form of the inter-particle interaction. Motivated by experiments which induce artificial spin-orbit coupling for cold fermions, I explore this system in my first project. In this project, I propose a method to perform universal quantum computation using the excitations of interacting spin-orbit coupled fermions, in which effective p-wave interactions lead to the formation of a topological superfluid. Motivated by experiments which explore the physics of exotic interactions between atoms trapped inside optical cavities, I explore this system in a second project. I calculate the phase diagram of lattice bosons trapped in an optical cavity, where the cavity modes mediates effective global range checkerboard interactions between the atoms. I compare this phase diagram with one that was recently measured experimentally. In two other projects, I explore quantum simulation of condensed matter phenomena due to spin-dependent interactions between particles. I propose a method to produce tunable spin-dependent interactions between atoms, using an optical Feshbach resonance. In one project, I use these spin-dependent interactions in an ultracold Bose-Fermi system, and propose a method to produce the Kondo model. I propose an experiment to directly observe the Kondo effect in this system. In another project, I propose using lattice bosons with a large hyperfine spin

High precision optical spectroscopy and quantum state selected photodissociation of ultracold 88Sr2 molecules in an optical lattice

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, Mickey

2017-04-01

Over the past several decades, rapid progress has been made toward the accurate characterization and control of atoms, epitomized by the ever-increasing accuracy and precision of optical atomic lattice clocks. Extending this progress to molecules will have exciting implications for chemistry, condensed matter physics, and precision tests of physics beyond the Standard Model. My thesis describes work performed over the past six years to establish the state of the art in manipulation and quantum control of ultracold molecules. We describe a thorough set of measurements characterizing the rovibrational structure of weakly bound 88Sr2 molecules from several different perspectives, including determinations of binding energies; linear, quadratic, and higher order Zeeman shifts; transition strengths between bound states; and lifetimes of narrow subradiant states. Finally, we discuss measurements of photofragment angular distributions produced by photodissociation of molecules in single quantum states, leading to an exploration of quantum-state-resolved ultracold chemistry. The images of exploding photofragments produced in these studies exhibit dramatic interference effects and strongly violate semiclassical predictions, instead requiring a fully quantum mechanical description.

A quantum trampoline for ultra-cold atoms

Science.gov (United States)

Robert-de-Saint-Vincent, M.; Brantut, J.-P.; Bordé, Ch. J.; Aspect, A.; Bourdel, T.; Bouyer, P.

2010-01-01

We have observed the interferometric suspension of a free-falling Bose-Einstein condensate periodically submitted to multiple-order diffraction by a vertical 1D standing wave. This scheme permits simultaneously the compensation of gravity and coherent splitting/recombination of the matter waves. It results in high-contrast interference in the number of atoms detected at constant height. For long suspension times, multiple-wave interference is revealed through a sharpening of the fringes. We characterize our atom interferometer and use it to measure the acceleration of gravity.

Spatial noise correlations of a chain of ultracold fermions: A numerical study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luescher, Andreas; Laeuchli, Andreas M.; Noack, Reinhard M.

2007-01-01

We present a numerical study of noise correlations, i.e., density-density correlations in momentum space, in the extended fermionic Hubbard model in one dimension. In experiments with ultracold atoms, these noise correlations can be extracted from time-of-flight images of the expanding cloud. Using the density-matrix renormalization group method to investigate the Hubbard model at various fillings and interactions, we confirm that the noise correlations contain full information on the most important fluctuations present in the system. We point out the importance of the sum rules fulfilled by the noise correlations and show that they yield nonsingular structures beyond the predictions of bosonization approaches. Noise correlations can thus serve as a universal probe of order and can be used to characterize the many-body states of cold atoms in optical lattices

Sympathetic cooling of a membrane oscillator in a hybrid mechanical-atomic system

Science.gov (United States)

Jöckel, Andreas; Faber, Aline; Kampschulte, Tobias; Korppi, Maria; Rakher, Matthew T.; Treutlein, Philipp

2015-01-01

Sympathetic cooling with ultracold atoms and atomic ions enables ultralow temperatures in systems where direct laser or evaporative cooling is not possible. It has so far been limited to the cooling of other microscopic particles, with masses up to 90 times larger than that of the coolant atom. Here, we use ultracold atoms to sympathetically cool the vibrations of a Si3N4 nanomembrane, the mass of which exceeds that of the atomic ensemble by a factor of 1010. The coupling of atomic and membrane vibrations is mediated by laser light over a macroscopic distance and is enhanced by placing the membrane in an optical cavity. We observe cooling of the membrane vibrations from room temperature to 650 ± 230 mK, exploiting the large atom-membrane cooperativity of our hybrid optomechanical system. With technical improvements, our scheme could provide ground-state cooling and quantum control of low-frequency oscillators such as nanomembranes or levitated nanoparticles, in a regime where purely optomechanical techniques cannot reach the ground state.

Low-energy-spread ion bunches from a trapped atomic gas

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reijnders, M.P.; Kruisbergen, van P.A.; Taban, G.; Geer, van der S.B.; Mutsaers, P.H.A.; Vredenbregt, E.J.D.; Luiten, O.J.

2009-01-01

We present time-of-flight measurements of the longitudinal energy spread of pulsed ultracold ion beams, produced by near-threshold ionization of rubidium atoms captured in a magneto-optical atom trap. Well-defined pulsed beams have been produced with energies of only 1 eV and a root-mean-square

Time-Dependent Wave Packet Dynamics Calculations of Cross Sections for Ultracold Scattering of Molecules

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Jiayu; Liu, Shu; Zhang, Dong H.; Krems, Roman V.

2018-04-01

Because the de Broglie wavelength of ultracold molecules is very large, the cross sections for collisions of molecules at ultracold temperatures are always computed by the time-independent quantum scattering approach. Here, we report the first accurate time-dependent wave packet dynamics calculation for reactive scattering of ultracold molecules. Wave packet dynamics calculations can be applied to molecular systems with more dimensions and provide real-time information on the process of bond rearrangement and/or energy exchange in molecular collisions. Our work thus makes possible the extension of rigorous quantum calculations of ultracold reaction properties to polyatomic molecules and adds a new powerful tool for the study of ultracold chemistry.

Trapping and interactions of an ultracold gas of Cs2 molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mark, M.; Kraemer, T.; Herbig, J.; Waldburger, P.; Naegerl, H.C.; Chin, C.; Grimm, R.

2005-01-01

Full text: We investigate dynamics and interactions of Cs 2 dimers in a CO2-laser dipole trap. Starting with a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of 2.2 x 10 5 Cs atoms, we create ultracold molecules in a single, weakly bound quantum state by sweeping the magnetic field across a narrow Feshbach resonance. When the molecules are created in free space, the conversion efficiency exceeds 30 %, yielding up to 50000 molecules. In our trapping experiments, about 6000 ultracold Cs 2 dimers are prepared in the optical trap at a temperature of 200 nK. We transfer the trapped molecules from the initial molecular state to other molecular states by following avoided crossings. We find two magnetically tunable resonances in collisions between the molecules for one of the molecular states. We interpret these Feshbach-liKEX resonances as being induced by Cs 4 bound states near the molecular scattering continuum. Further, we have discovered a new molecular state with very large orbital angular momentum of l = 8. This state is very weakly coupled to one of the initial molecular states. We use the associated avoided crossing as a molecular beam splitter to realize a molecular Ramsey-type interferometer. Refs. 2 (author)

Two-stage crossed beam cooling with ⁶Li and ¹³³Cs atoms in microgravity.

Science.gov (United States)

Luan, Tian; Yao, Hepeng; Wang, Lu; Li, Chen; Yang, Shifeng; Chen, Xuzong; Ma, Zhaoyuan

2015-05-04

Applying the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method developed for ultracold Bose-Fermi mixture gases research, we study the sympathetic cooling process of 6Li and 133Cs atoms in a crossed optical dipole trap. The obstacles to producing 6Li Fermi degenerate gas via direct sympathetic cooling with 133Cs are also analyzed, by which we find that the side-effect of the gravity is one of the main obstacles. Based on the dynamic nature of 6Li and 133Cs atoms, we suggest a two-stage cooling process with two pairs of crossed beams in microgravity environment. According to our simulations, the temperature of 6Li atoms can be cooled to T = 29.5 pK and T/TF = 0.59 with several thousand atoms, which propose a novel way to get ultracold fermion atoms with quantum degeneracy near pico-Kelvin.

Tailored long range forces on polarizable particles by collective scattering of broadband radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holzmann, D; Ritsch, H

2016-01-01

Collective coherent light scattering by polarizable particles creates surprisingly strong, long range inter-particle forces originating from interference of the light scattered by different particles. While for monochromatic laser beams this interaction decays with the inverse distance, we show here that in general the effective interaction range and geometry can be controlled by the illumination bandwidth and geometry. As generic example we study the modifications inter-particle forces within a 1D chain of atoms trapped in the field of a confined optical nanofiber mode. For two particles we find short range attraction as well as optical binding at multiple distances. The range of stable distances shrinks with increasing light bandwidth and for a very large bandwidth field as e.g. blackbody radiation. We find a strongly attractive potential up to a critical distance beyond which the force gets repulsive. Including multiple scattering can even lead to the appearance of a stable configuration at a large distance. Such broadband scattering forces should be observable contributions in ultra-cold atom interferometers or atomic clocks setups. They could be studied in detail in 1D geometries with ultra-cold atoms trapped along or within an optical nanofiber. Broadband radiation force interactions might also contribute in astrophysical scenarios as illuminated cold dust clouds. (paper)

Atomic Quantum Simulations of Abelian and non-Abelian Gauge Theories

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2014-01-01

Using a Fermi-Bose mixture of ultra-cold atoms in an optical lattice, in a collaboration of atomic and particle physicists, we have constructed a quantum simulator for a U(1) gauge theory coupled to fermionic matter. The construction is based on quantum link models which realize continuous gauge symmetry with discrete quantum variables. At low energies, quantum link models with staggered fermions emerge from a Hubbard-type model which can be quantum simulated. This allows investigations of string breaking as well as the real-time evolution after a quench in gauge theories, which are inaccessible to classical simulation methods. Similarly, using ultracold alkaline-earth atoms in optical lattices, we have constructed a quantum simulator for U(N) and SU(N) lattice gauge theories with fermionic matter based on quantum link models. These systems share qualitative features with QCD, including chiral symmetry breaking and restoration at non-zero temperature or baryon density. Unlike classical simulations, a quantum ...

Generating a picokelvin ultracold atomic ensemble in microgravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Lu; Ma, Zhao-Yuan; Zhang, Peng; Chen, Xu-Zong

2013-01-01

Applying the direct Monte Carlo simulation (DSMC) method developed for a cold atom system, we study the evaporative cooling process in tilted optical dipole traps with a magnetic field gradient-induced over-levitation or merely a gravitational force. We propose a two-stage decomposed evaporative cooling process in a microgravity environment, and suggest that quantum degeneracy can be obtained at a few picokelvins with several thousand atoms. (paper)

Role of Feshbach resonances in enhancing the production of deeply bound ultracold LiRb molecules with laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Gacesa, Marko; Ghosal, Subhas; Côté, Robin

2010-03-01

We investigate the possibility of forming deeply bound LiRb molecules in a two-color photoassociation experiment. Ultracold ^6Li and ^87Rb atoms colliding in the vicinity of a magnetic Feshbach resonance are photoassociated into an excited electronic state. A wavepacket is then formed by exciting a few vibrational levels of the excited state and allowed to propagate. We calculate the time-dependent overlaps between the wave packet and the lowest vibrational levels of the ground state. After the optimal overlap is obtained we use the second laser pulse to dump the wave packet and efficiently populate the deeply bound ro-vibrational levels of ^6Li^87Rb in the ground state. The resulting combination of Feshbach-optimized photoassociation (FOPA) with the time-dependent pump-dump approach will produce a large number of stable ultracold molecules in the ground state. This technique is general and applicable to other systems.

SO(3) "Nuclear Physics" with ultracold Gases

Science.gov (United States)

Rico, E.; Dalmonte, M.; Zoller, P.; Banerjee, D.; Bögli, M.; Stebler, P.; Wiese, U.-J.

2018-06-01

An ab initio calculation of nuclear physics from Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), the fundamental SU(3) gauge theory of the strong interaction, remains an outstanding challenge. Here, we discuss the emergence of key elements of nuclear physics using an SO(3) lattice gauge theory as a toy model for QCD. We show that this model is accessible to state-of-the-art quantum simulation experiments with ultracold atoms in an optical lattice. First, we demonstrate that our model shares characteristic many-body features with QCD, such as the spontaneous breakdown of chiral symmetry, its restoration at finite baryon density, as well as the existence of few-body bound states. Then we show that in the one-dimensional case, the dynamics in the gauge invariant sector can be encoded as a spin S = 3/2 Heisenberg model, i.e., as quantum magnetism, which has a natural realization with bosonic mixtures in optical lattices, and thus sheds light on the connection between non-Abelian gauge theories and quantum magnetism.

From ultracold Fermi Gases to Neutron Stars

Science.gov (United States)

Salomon, Christophe

2012-02-01

Ultracold dilute atomic gases can be considered as model systems to address some pending problem in Many-Body physics that occur in condensed matter systems, nuclear physics, and astrophysics. We have developed a general method to probe with high precision the thermodynamics of locally homogeneous ultracold Bose and Fermi gases [1,2,3]. This method allows stringent tests of recent many-body theories. For attractive spin 1/2 fermions with tunable interaction (^6Li), we will show that the gas thermodynamic properties can continuously change from those of weakly interacting Cooper pairs described by Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory to those of strongly bound molecules undergoing Bose-Einstein condensation. First, we focus on the finite-temperature Equation of State (EoS) of the unpolarized unitary gas. Surprisingly, the low-temperature properties of the strongly interacting normal phase are well described by Fermi liquid theory [3] and we localize the superfluid phase transition. A detailed comparison with theories including recent Monte-Carlo calculations will be presented. Moving away from the unitary gas, the Lee-Huang-Yang and Lee-Yang beyond-mean-field corrections for low density bosonic and fermionic superfluids are quantitatively measured for the first time. Despite orders of magnitude difference in density and temperature, our equation of state can be used to describe low density neutron matter such as the outer shell of neutron stars. [4pt] [1] S. Nascimbène, N. Navon, K. Jiang, F. Chevy, and C. Salomon, Nature 463, 1057 (2010) [0pt] [2] N. Navon, S. Nascimbène, F. Chevy, and C. Salomon, Science 328, 729 (2010) [0pt] [3] S. Nascimbène, N. Navon, S. Pilati, F. Chevy, S. Giorgini, A. Georges, and C. Salomon, Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 215303 (2011)

High-precision multiband spectroscopy of ultracold fermions in a nonseparable optical lattice

Science.gov (United States)

Fläschner, Nick; Tarnowski, Matthias; Rem, Benno S.; Vogel, Dominik; Sengstock, Klaus; Weitenberg, Christof

2018-05-01

Spectroscopic tools are fundamental for the understanding of complex quantum systems. Here, we demonstrate high-precision multiband spectroscopy in a graphenelike lattice using ultracold fermionic atoms. From the measured band structure, we characterize the underlying lattice potential with a relative error of 1.2 ×10-3 . Such a precise characterization of complex lattice potentials is an important step towards precision measurements of quantum many-body systems. Furthermore, we explain the excitation strengths into different bands with a model and experimentally study their dependency on the symmetry of the perturbation operator. This insight suggests the excitation strengths as a suitable observable for interaction effects on the eigenstates.

Radio frequency selective addressing of localized atoms in a periodic potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ott, H.; De Mirandes, E.; Ferlaino, F.; Roati, G.; Tuerck, V.; Modugno, G.; Inguscio, M.

2004-01-01

We study the localization and addressability of ultracold atoms in a combined parabolic and periodic potential. Such a potential supports the existence of localized stationary states and we show that applying a radio frequency field allows us to selectively address atoms in these states. This method is used to measure the energy and momentum distribution of the atoms in the localized states. We also discuss possible extensions of this scheme to address and manipulate atoms in single lattice sites

Cold atoms in a cryogenic environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haslinger, S.

2011-01-01

The idea of quantum information processing attracts increasingly interest, where a complex collection of quantum objects and quantum bits are employed to find the ideal building blocks for quantum information systems. Hybrid quantum systems are therefore promising objects as they countervail the particular drawbacks of single quantum objects. Based on superconducting resonator technology, microwave coplanar waveguides provide a well suited interconnection for photons and solid-state quantum bits (qubits), extensively investigated in recent years. Since a quantum memory is presently missing in those electrical accessible circuit cavity quantum devices, connecting the fast processing in a solid sate device to the exceptional long coherence times in atomic ensembles, the presented work is focused to establish the technological foundations for the hybridization of such quantum systems. The microwave photons stored in a superconducting high finesse microwave resonator are therefore an ideal connection between the atom and the solid state quantum world. In the last decade, the miniaturization and integration of quantum optics and atomic physics manipulation techniques on to a single chip was successfully established. Such atom chips are capable of detailed quantum manipulation of ultra-cold atoms and provide a versatile platform to combine the manipulation techniques from atomic physics with the capability of nano-fabrication. In recent years several experiments succeeded in realization of superconducting atom chips in cryogenic environments which opens the road for integrating super-conductive microwave resonators to magnetically couple an atomic ensemble to photons stored in the coplanar high finesse cavity. This thesis presents the concept, design and experimental setup of two approaches to establish an atomic ensemble of rubidium atoms inside a cryogenic environment, based on an Electron beam driven alkali metal atom source for loading a magneto optical trap in a

The charge imbalance in ultracold plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Tianxing; Lu, Ronghua; Guo, Li; Han, Shensheng

2016-01-01

Ultracold plasmas are regarded as quasineutral but not strictly neutral. The results of charge imbalance in the expansion of ultracold plasmas are reported. The calculations are performed by a full molecular-dynamics simulation. The details of the electron velocity distributions are calculated without the assumption of electron global thermal equilibrium and Boltzmann distribution. Spontaneous evolutions of the charge imbalance from the initial states with perfect neutrality are given in the simulations. The expansion of outer plasma slows down with the charge imbalance. The influences of plasma size and parameters on the charge imbalance are discussed. The radial profiles of electron temperature are given for the first time, and the self-similar expansion can still occur even if there is no global thermal equilibrium. The electron disorder induced heating is also found in the simulation.

The charge imbalance in ultracold plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Tianxing; Lu, Ronghua, E-mail: lurh@siom.ac.cn; Guo, Li; Han, Shensheng [Key Laboratory for Quantum Optics and Center for Cold Atom Physics, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800 (China)

2016-09-15

Ultracold plasmas are regarded as quasineutral but not strictly neutral. The results of charge imbalance in the expansion of ultracold plasmas are reported. The calculations are performed by a full molecular-dynamics simulation. The details of the electron velocity distributions are calculated without the assumption of electron global thermal equilibrium and Boltzmann distribution. Spontaneous evolutions of the charge imbalance from the initial states with perfect neutrality are given in the simulations. The expansion of outer plasma slows down with the charge imbalance. The influences of plasma size and parameters on the charge imbalance are discussed. The radial profiles of electron temperature are given for the first time, and the self-similar expansion can still occur even if there is no global thermal equilibrium. The electron disorder induced heating is also found in the simulation.

Production and spectroscopy of ultracold YbRb* molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nemitz, Nils

2008-11-01

This thesis describes the formation of electronically excited but translationally cold molecules formed from rubidium atoms and two isotopes of ytterbium ( 176 Yb and 174 Yb) by means of photoassociation. The experiments were performed in a combined MOT with 10 9 rubidium atoms and 2.10 6 ytterbium atoms at temperatures of less than 1 mK. Photoassociation lines were found by trap loss spectroscopy throughout a wavelength range of 2 nm near the 795 nm D1 transition in rubidium. The majority of lines belong to two vibrational series in the excited YbRb * molecule, converging on a system of a ground state ytterbium atom and an excited rubidium atom. The strong variation of line strength between different vibrational lines is explained through the Franck-Condon principle. An improved version of the Leroy-Bernstein equation was used to extract the leading dispersion coefficient of the potential from the vibrational progression. Most of the observed lines show a resolved rotational structure as expected from a basic quantum mechanical model. The series terminates with the third or forth rotational component due to the ground state centrifugal barrier.The measured rotational constants agree very well with calculations based on the C 6 coefficient. The discovery of a splitting of the rotational components into subcomponents indicates an uncommon angular momentum coupling described by Hund's case. Variations in the depth of the subcomponents indicates a similar splitting in the ground state, with the energies of the substates based on the alignment of the rubidium atom's magnetic dipole moment relative to the angular momentum carried by an approaching ytterbium atom. This creates an additional ground state barrier, partially suppressing some of the subcomponents. Using a rate equation model developed for this purpose, a maximum formation rate of 2.5.10 6 molecules per second was calculated over the volume of the entire trap. The work presented here is an important step on

Exploiting Universality in Atoms with Large Scattering Lengths

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braaten, Eric

2012-01-01

The focus of this research project was atoms with scattering lengths that are large compared to the range of their interactions and which therefore exhibit universal behavior at sufficiently low energies. Recent dramatic advances in cooling atoms and in manipulating their scattering lengths have made this phenomenon of practical importance for controlling ultracold atoms and molecules. This research project was aimed at developing a systematically improvable method for calculating few-body observables for atoms with large scattering lengths starting from the universal results as a first approximation. Significant progress towards this goal was made during the five years of the project.

Experiments with cold hydrogen atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leonas, V.B.

1981-01-01

Numerous investigations of atomic processes in Waseous phase on the surface with participation of ''cold'' hydrogen atoms, made during the last years, are considered. The term ''cold atom'' means the range of relative collision energies E<10 MeV (respectively 'ultracold ' atoms at E< or approximately 1 MeV) which corresponds to the range of temperatures in tens (units) of K degrees. Three main ranges of investigations where extensive experimental programs are realized are considered: study of collisional processes with hydrogen atom participation, hydrogen atoms being of astrophysical interest; study of elastic atom-molecular scattering at superlow energies and studies on the problem of condensed hydrogen. Hydrogen atoms production is realized at dissociation in non-electrode high-frequency or superhigh-frequency discharge. A method of hydrogen quantum generator and of its modifications appeared to be rather an effective means to study collisional changes of spin state of hydrogen atoms. First important results on storage and stabilization of the gas of polarized hydrogen atoms are received

Quantum information entropies of ultracold atomic gases in a ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The position and momentum space information entropies of weakly interacting trapped atomic Bose–Einstein condensates and spin-polarized trapped atomic Fermi gases at absolute zero temperature are evaluated. We find that sum of the position and momentum space information entropies of these quantum systems ...

Ultracold gas shows 'lopsided' properties

CERN Multimedia

2002-01-01

"Duke University researchers have created an ultracold gas that has the startling property of bursting outward in a preferred direction when released. According to the researchers, studying the properties of the "lopsided" gas will yield fundamental insights into how matter holds itself together at the subatomic level" (1 page).

Characterization of a scintillating lithium glass ultra-cold neutron detector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jamieson, B.; Rebenitsch, L.A.; Hansen-Romu, S.; Mammei, R.; Martin, J.W. [University of Winnipeg, Department of Physics, Winnipeg (Canada); Lauss, B. [Paul Scherrer Institute, Laboratory for Particle Physics, Villigen (Switzerland); Lindner, T. [TRIUMF, Vancouver (Canada); University of Winnipeg, Department of Physics, Winnipeg (Canada); Pierre, E. [TRIUMF, Vancouver (Canada); Osaka University, Research Centre for Nuclear Physics, Osaka (Japan)

2017-01-15

A {sup 6}Li-glass-based scintillation detector developed for the TRIUMF neutron electric dipole moment experiment was characterized using the ultra-cold neutron source at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI). The data acquisition system for this detector was demonstrated to perform well at rejecting backgrounds. An estimate of the absolute efficiency of background rejection of 99.7±0.1% is made. For variable ultra-cold neutron rate (varying from < 1 kHz to approx. 100 kHz per channel) and background rate seen at the Paul Scherrer Institute, we estimate that the absolute detector efficiency is 89.7{sup +1.3}{sub -1.9}%. Finally a comparison with a commercial Cascade detector was performed for a specific setup at the West-2 beamline of the ultra-cold neutron source at PSI. (orig.)

Ultracold and very cold neutron facility in KUR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawabata, Yuji; Utsuro, Masahiko

1992-01-01

The present status of the ultracold and very cold neutron facility installed in the Kyoto University Reactor (KUR) is described in this presentation. It consists of a VCN (very cold neutrons) guide tube, a VCN bender and a supermirror neutron turbine. The guide tube extracts VCN from a liquid deuterium cold neutron source in a graphite thermal column and the neutron turbine converts VCN to UCN (ultracold neutrons). As for the utilization of the present facility, VCN radiography and an UCN gravity spectrometer are shown for the practical examples of the research with VCN and UCN. (author)

Influence of electron evaporative cooling on ultracold plasma expansion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilson, Truman; Chen, Wei-Ting; Roberts, Jacob

2013-01-01

The expansion of ultracold neutral plasmas (UCP) is driven primarily by the thermal pressure of the electron component and is therefore sensitive to the electron temperature. For typical UCP spatial extents, evaporative cooling has a significant influence on the UCP expansion rate at lower densities (less than 10 8 /cm 3 ). We studied the effect of electron evaporation in this density range. Owing to the low density, the effects of three-body recombination were negligible. We modeled the expansion by taking into account the change in electron temperature owing to evaporation as well as adiabatic expansion and found good agreement with our data. We also developed a simple model for initial evaporation over a range of ultracold plasma densities, sizes, and electron temperatures to determine over what parameter range electron evaporation is expected to have a significant effect. We also report on a signal calibration technique, which relates the signal at our detector to the total number of ions and electrons in the ultracold plasma

Manipulating Atoms with Light Achievements and Perspectives

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2006-01-01

During the last few decades spectacular progress has been achieved in the control of atomic systems by light. It will be shown how it is possible to use the basic conservation laws in atom-photon interactions for polarizing atoms, for trapping them, for cooling them to extremely low temperatures, in the microkelvin, and even in the nanokelvin range. A review will be given of recent advances in this field and of new applications, including atomic clocks with very high relative stability and accuracy, atomic interferometers allowing precise measurement of rotation speeds and gravitational fields, the realization of new states of matter such as Bose-Einstein condensates, matter waves and atom lasers, ultracold molecules. New perspectives opened by these results will be also briefly discussed.

Entanglement between two spatially separated atomic modes

Science.gov (United States)

Lange, Karsten; Peise, Jan; Lücke, Bernd; Kruse, Ilka; Vitagliano, Giuseppe; Apellaniz, Iagoba; Kleinmann, Matthias; Tóth, Géza; Klempt, Carsten

2018-04-01

Modern quantum technologies in the fields of quantum computing, quantum simulation, and quantum metrology require the creation and control of large ensembles of entangled particles. In ultracold ensembles of neutral atoms, nonclassical states have been generated with mutual entanglement among thousands of particles. The entanglement generation relies on the fundamental particle-exchange symmetry in ensembles of identical particles, which lacks the standard notion of entanglement between clearly definable subsystems. Here, we present the generation of entanglement between two spatially separated clouds by splitting an ensemble of ultracold identical particles prepared in a twin Fock state. Because the clouds can be addressed individually, our experiments open a path to exploit the available entangled states of indistinguishable particles for quantum information applications.

Dependences of the van der Waals atom-wall interaction on atomic and material properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caride, A.O.; Klimchitskaya, G.L.; Mostepanenko, V.M.; Zanette, S.I.

2005-01-01

The 1%-accurate calculations of the van der Waals interaction between an atom and a cavity wall are performed in the separation region from 3 nm to 150 nm. The cases of metastable He * and Na atoms near metal, semiconductor, and dielectric walls are considered. Different approximations to the description of wall material and atomic dynamic polarizability are carefully compared. The smooth transition to the Casimir-Polder interaction is verified. It is shown that to obtain accurate results for the atom-wall van der Waals interaction at short separations with an error less than 1% one should use the complete optical-tabulated data for the complex refractive index of the wall material and the accurate dynamic polarizability of an atom. The obtained results may be useful for the theoretical interpretation of recent experiments on quantum reflection and Bose-Einstein condensation of ultracold atoms on or near surfaces of different kinds

Moeller polarimetry with atomic hydrogen targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chudakov, E.; Luppov, V.

2005-01-01

A novel proposal of using polarized atomic hydrogen gas, stored in an ultra-cold magnetic trap, as the target for electron beam polarimetry based on Moeller scattering is discussed. Such a target of practically 100% polarized electrons could provide a superb systematic accuracy of about 0.5% for beam polarization measurements. Feasibility studies for the CEBAF electron beam have been performed. (orig.)

Hyperfine structure of 2Σ molecules containing alkaline-earth-metal atoms

Science.gov (United States)

Aldegunde, Jesus; Hutson, Jeremy M.

2018-04-01

Ultracold molecules with both electron spin and an electric dipole moment offer new possibilities in quantum science. We use density-functional theory to calculate hyperfine coupling constants for a selection of molecules important in this area, including RbSr, LiYb, RbYb, CaF, and SrF. We find substantial hyperfine coupling constants for the fermionic isotopes of the alkaline-earth-metal and Yb atoms. We discuss the hyperfine level patterns and Zeeman splittings expected for these molecules. The results will be important both to experiments aimed at forming ultracold open-shell molecules and to their applications.

Submicron Positioning of Single Atoms in a Microcavity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nussmann, Stefan; Hijlkema, Markus; Weber, Bernhard; Rohde, Felix; Rempe, Gerhard; Kuhn, Axel

2005-01-01

The coupling of individual atoms to a high-finesse optical cavity is precisely controlled and adjusted using a standing-wave dipole-force trap, a challenge for strong atom-cavity coupling. Ultracold Rubidium atoms are first loaded into potential minima of the dipole trap in the center of the cavity. Then we use the trap as a conveyor belt that we set into motion perpendicular to the cavity axis. This allows us to repetitively move atoms out of and back into the cavity mode with a repositioning precision of 135 nm. This makes it possible to either selectively address one atom of a string of atoms by the cavity, or to simultaneously couple two precisely separated atoms to a higher mode of the cavity

Laser-Cooled Ions and Atoms in a Storage Ring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kleinert, J.; Hannemann, S.; Eike, B.; Eisenbarth, U.; Grieser, M.; Grimm, R.; Gwinner, G.; Karpuk, S.; Saathoff, G.; Schramm, U.; Schwalm, D.; Weidemueller, M.

2003-01-01

We review recent experiments at the Heidelberg Test Storage Ring which apply advanced laser cooling techniques to stored ion beams. Very high phase-space densities are achieved by three-dimensional laser cooling of a coasting 9 Be + beam at 7.3 MeV. Laser-cooled, trapped Cs atoms are used as an ultracold precision target for the study of ion-atom interactions with a 74 MeV beam of 12 C 6+ ions.

Observation of Resonant Effects in Ultracold Collisions between Heteronuclear Feshbach Molecules

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Xin; Wang, Fudong; Zhu, Bing; Guo, Mingyang; Lu, Bo; Wang, Dajun

2016-05-01

Magnetic field dependent dimer-dimer collisional losses are studied with ultracold 23 Na87 Rb Feshbach molecules. By ramping the magnetic field across the 347.8 G inter-species Feshbach resonance and removing residual atoms with a magnetic field gradient, ~ 8000 pure NaRb Feshbach molecules with a temperature below 1 μK are produced. By holding the pure molecule sample in a crossed optical dipole trap and measuring the time-dependent loss curves under different magnetic fields near the Feshbach resonance, the dimer-dimer loss rates with respect to the atomic scattering length a are mapped out. We observe a resonant feature at around a = 600a0 and a rising tail at above a = 1600a0 . This behavior resembles previous theoretical works on homonuclear Feshbach molecule, where resonant effects between dimer-dimer collisions tied to tetramer bound states were predicted. Our work shows the possibility of exploring four-body physics within a heteronuclear system. We are supported by Hong Kong RGC General Research Fund no. CUHK403813.

High-resolution imaging of ultracold fermions in microscopically tailored optical potentials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zimmermann, B; Mueller, T; Meineke, J; Esslinger, T; Moritz, H

2011-01-01

We report on the local probing and preparation of an ultracold Fermi gas on the length scale of one micrometer, i.e. of the order of the Fermi wavelength. The essential tool of our experimental setup is a pair of identical, high-resolution microscope objectives. One of the microscope objectives allows local imaging of the trapped Fermi gas of 6 Li atoms with a maximum resolution of 660 nm, while the other enables the generation of arbitrary optical dipole potentials on the same length scale. Employing a two-dimensional (2D) acousto-optical deflector, we demonstrate the formation of several trapping geometries, including a tightly focused single optical dipole trap, a 4x4 site 2D optical lattice and an 8 site ring lattice configuration. Furthermore, we show the ability to load and detect a small number of atoms in these trapping potentials. A site separation down to one micrometer in combination with the low mass of 6 Li results in tunneling rates that are sufficiently large for the implementation of Hubbard models with the designed geometries.

A device for simultaneous spin analysis of ultracold neutrons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Afach, S. [Institute for Particle Physics, ETH Zuerich, Zuerich (Switzerland); Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen-PSI (Switzerland); Jena University Hospital, Hans Berger Department of Neurology, Jena (Germany); Ban, G.; Lefort, T.; Lemiere, Y.; Naviliat-Cuncic, O.; Quemener, G. [Universite de Caen, CNRS/IN2P3, LPC Caen ENSICAEN, Caen (France); Bison, G.; Chowdhuri, Z.; Daum, M.; Henneck, R.; Lauss, B.; Mtchedlishvili, A.; Schmidt-Wellenburg, P.; Zsigmond, G. [Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen-PSI (Switzerland); Bodek, K.; Rawlik, M.; Rozpedzik, D.; Zejma, J. [Jagiellonian University, Marian Smoluchowski Institute of Physics, Cracow (Poland); Fertl, M.; Franke, B.; Kirch, K.; Komposch, S. [Institute for Particle Physics, ETH Zuerich, Zuerich (Switzerland); Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen-PSI (Switzerland); Geltenbort, P. [Institut Laue-Langevin, Grenoble (France); Grujic, Z.D.; Kasprzak, M.; Weis, A. [University of Fribourg, Physics Department, Fribourg (Switzerland); Hayen, L.; Severijns, N.; Wursten, E. [Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Instituut voor Kernen Stralingsfysica, Leuven (Belgium); Helaine, V. [Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen-PSI (Switzerland); Universite de Caen, CNRS/IN2P3, LPC Caen ENSICAEN, Caen (France); Kermaidic, Y.; Pignol, G.; Rebreyend, D. [Universite Grenoble Alpes, CNRS/IN2P3, LPSC, Grenoble (France); Kozela, A. [Henryk Niedwodniczanski Institute for Nuclear Physics, Cracow (Poland); Krempel, J.; Piegsa, F.M. [Institute for Particle Physics, ETH Zuerich, Zuerich (Switzerland); Prashanth, P.N. [Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen-PSI (Switzerland); Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Instituut voor Kernen Stralingsfysica, Leuven (Belgium); Ries, D. [Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen-PSI (Switzerland); Jena University Hospital, Hans Berger Department of Neurology, Jena (Germany); Roccia, S. [Universite Paris Sud, CNRS/IN2P3, CSNSM, Orsay campus (France); Wyszynski, G. [Institute for Particle Physics, ETH Zuerich, Zuerich (Switzerland); Jagiellonian University, Marian Smoluchowski Institute of Physics, Cracow (Poland)

2015-11-15

We report on the design and first tests of a device allowing for measurement of ultracold neutrons polarisation by means of the simultaneous analysis of the two spin components. The device was developed in the framework of the neutron electric dipole moment experiment at the Paul Scherrer Institute. Individual parts and the entire newly built system have been characterised with ultracold neutrons. The gain in statistical sensitivity obtained with the simultaneous spin analyser is (18.2 ± 6.1) % relative to the former sequential analyser under nominal running conditions. (orig.)

Localization of Cold Atoms in State-Dependent Optical Lattices via a Rabi Pulse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horstmann, Birger; Duerr, Stephan; Roscilde, Tommaso

2010-01-01

We propose a novel realization of Anderson localization in nonequilibrium states of ultracold atoms in an optical lattice. A Rabi pulse transfers part of the population to a different internal state with infinite effective mass. These frozen atoms create a quantum superposition of different disorder potentials, localizing the mobile atoms. For weakly interacting mobile atoms, Anderson localization is obtained. The localization length increases with increasing disorder and decreasing interaction strength, contrary to the expectation for equilibrium localization.

A Michelson interferometer for ultracold neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steyerl, A.; Malik, S.S.; Steinhauser, K.A.; Berger, L.

1979-01-01

We propose a neutron Michelson Interferometer installed within a focussing 'gravity diffractometer' for ultracold neutrons. In this arrangement the expected interference pattern depends only on the well-defined vertical component of neutron wavevector. Possible applications of such an interferometer are discussed. (orig.)

Matter-wave localization in disordered cold atom lattices.

Science.gov (United States)

Gavish, Uri; Castin, Yvan

2005-07-08

We propose to observe Anderson localization of ultracold atoms in the presence of a random potential made of atoms of another species or spin state and trapped at the nodes of an optical lattice, with a filling factor less than unity. Such systems enable a nearly perfect experimental control of the disorder, while the possibility of modeling the scattering potentials by a set of pointlike ones allows an exact theoretical analysis. This is illustrated by a detailed analysis of the one-dimensional case.

Laser-Cooled Ions and Atoms in a Storage Ring

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kleinert, J.; Hannemann, S.; Eike, B.; Eisenbarth, U.; Grieser, M.; Grimm, R.; Gwinner, G.; Karpuk, S.; Saathoff, G.; Schramm, U.; Schwalm, D.; Weidemueller, M., E-mail: m.weidemueller@mpi-hd.mpg.de [Max-Planck-Insitut fuer Kernphysik (Germany)

2003-03-15

We review recent experiments at the Heidelberg Test Storage Ring which apply advanced laser cooling techniques to stored ion beams. Very high phase-space densities are achieved by three-dimensional laser cooling of a coasting {sup 9}Be{sup +} beam at 7.3 MeV. Laser-cooled, trapped Cs atoms are used as an ultracold precision target for the study of ion-atom interactions with a 74 MeV beam of {sup 12}C{sup 6+} ions.

Realizing analogues of color superconductivity with ultracold alkali atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Hara, K M

2011-01-01

A degenerate three-component Fermi gas of atoms with identical attractive interactions is expected to exhibit superfluidity and magnetic order at low temperature and, for sufficiently strong pairwise interactions, become a Fermi liquid of weakly interacting trimers. The phase diagram of this system is analogous to that of quark matter at low temperature, motivating strong interest in its investigation. We describe how a three-component gas below the superfluid critical temperature can be prepared in an optical lattice. To realize an SU(3)-symmetric system, we show how pairwise interactions in the three-component atomic system can be made equal by applying radiofrequency and microwave radiation. Finally, motivated by the aim to make more accurate models of quark matter, which have color, flavor and spin degrees of freedom, we discuss how an atomic system with SU(2)xSU(3) symmetry can be achieved by confining a three-component Fermi gas in the p-orbital band of an optical lattice potential.

Reactive Collisions and Interactions of Ultracold Dipolar Atoms

Science.gov (United States)

2014-10-29

Kotochigova Department of Physics, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122-6082 I. COLLISIONAL INTERACTIONS OF RARE- EARTH MAGNETIC ATOMS The breakthroughs...technologies, it was not previously implemented, possibly owing to the misconception that molecular ions predominantly undergo charge-exchange reactions leading

Nonequilibrium Quantum Phase Transition in a Hybrid Atom-Optomechanical System

Science.gov (United States)

Mann, Niklas; Bakhtiari, M. Reza; Pelster, Axel; Thorwart, Michael

2018-02-01

We consider a hybrid quantum many-body system formed by a vibrational mode of a nanomembrane, which interacts optomechanically with light in a cavity, and an ultracold atom gas in the optical lattice of the out-coupled light. The adiabatic elimination of the light field yields an effective Hamiltonian which reveals a competition between the force localizing the atoms and the membrane displacement. At a critical atom-membrane interaction, we find a nonequilibrium quantum phase transition from a localized symmetric state of the atom cloud to a shifted symmetry-broken state, the energy of the lowest collective excitation vanishes, and a strong atom-membrane entanglement arises. The effect occurs when the atoms and the membrane are nonresonantly coupled.

Moller Polarimetry with Atomic Hydrogen Targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chudakov, Eugene; Luppov, V.

2012-01-01

A proposal to use polarized atomic hydrogen gas as the target for electron beam polarimetry based on the Moller scattering is described. Such a gas, stored in an ultra-cold magnetic trap, would provide a target of practically 100% polarized electrons. It is conceivable to reach a ∼0.3% systematic accuracy of the beam polarimetry with such a target. Feasibility studies for the CEBAF electron beam have been performed

Exciton induced directed motion of unconstrained atoms in an ultracold gas

Science.gov (United States)

Leonhardt, K.; Wüster, S.; Rost, J. M.

2017-03-01

We demonstrate that through localised Rydberg excitation in a three-dimensional cold atom cloud atomic motion can be rendered directed and nearly confined to a plane, without spatial constraints for the motion of individual atoms. This enables creation and observation of non-adiabatic electronic Rydberg dynamics in atoms accelerated by dipole-dipole interactions under natural conditions. Using the full l = 0, 1 m=0,+/- 1 angular momentum state space, our simulations show that conical intersection crossings are clearly evident, both in atomic position information and excited state spectra of the Rydberg system. Hence, flexible Rydberg aggregates suggest themselves for probing quantum chemical effects in experiments on length scales much inflated as compared to a standard molecular situation.

Quantum Optics 6 - Quantum Engineering of Atoms and Photons - Conference Materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-01-01

The conference organized by Center for Theoretical Physics, Institute of Physics and Warsaw University, sponsored by European Science Foundation, was held in Krynica (120 km south-east of Cracow), Poland, June 13-18 2005. This was the sixth conference of the cycle, the previous one was held in Koscielisko, Poland in 2001. This time the main subject of the conference was: Quantum Engineering of Atoms and Photons. The meeting was focused on the physics of ultracold quantum gases, which without doubts determines the frontiers of the modern atomic, molecular and optical physics. Special attention was also be given to quantum information processing, both from theoretical and experimental point of view, including possible realizations in ultracold quantum gases. The conference consisted of invited lectures and a poster session. Competition for the best poster was held, sponsored by Journal of Optics B and Journal of Physics B - for more on this, including the results of the competition visit. (author)

Forward and backward scattering experiments in ultra-cold Rubidium atoms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kampel, Nir Shlomo

project, we have studied coherent forward scattering in the form of a memory experiment. In such an experiment we convert the input light pulse to an atomic excitation, and at a later time convert back the atomic excitation into the retrieved light pulse. In the first project, we investigate the source...

Exploring strategies for the production of ultracold RbYb molecules in conservative traps

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bruni, Cristian

2015-07-14

Within the scope of this thesis, the production of ultracold molecules at a temperature of a few μK with various isotopes of rubidium (Rb) and ytterbium (Yb) was examined by means of photoassociation spectroscopy and magnetic Feshbach resonances in combined conservative traps. The long-term goal of this experiment is the production of ultracold RbYb molecules in the rovibronic ground state. It was possible to produce electronically excited {sup 87}Rb {sup 176}Yb molecules in a novel hybrid trap (HT) at a combined temperature of 1.7 μK by means of 1-photon photoassociation close to the Rb D1 line at 795 nm. This HT takes advantage of the different magnetic properties of Rb and Yb and allows for independent trapping and manipulation of the atomic species. It combines an Ioffe-Pritchard type magnetic trap for Rb and a near-resonant optical dipole trap for Yb. The excited molecular {sup 2}Π{sub 1/2} state could be characterized further extending previous works in a combined MOT and vibrational levels reaching binding energies up to E{sub b}=-h x 2.2 THz could be assigned by trap-loss spectroscopy. Almost every detected vibrational state consists of two resonances that could be assigned to the molecular analogue of the hyperfine structure of {sup 87}Rb. An important experimental observation is a decrease in hyperfine splitting with increasing binding energy of a vibrational level. For the deepest found vibrational state the hyperfine splitting amounts only 70 % of the atomic value (817 MHz) which emphasizes a gradual passage from weakly to tightly bound molecules. Furthermore, detailed attempts were undertaken to induce magnetic Feshbach resonances in {sup 85}Rb and different Yb isotopes, especially {sup 171}Yb in a crossed optical dipole trap at 1064 nm at temperatures of 10 μK. For this purpose, a homogeneous magnetic field was applied and scanned in small steps over the range of 495 G ∼ 640 G. Unfortunately, our efforts were without success. Additionally, well

Magnetic field modification of ultracold molecule-molecule collisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tscherbul, T V; Suleimanov, Yu V; Aquilanti, V; Krems, R V

2009-01-01

We present an accurate quantum mechanical study of molecule-molecule collisions in the presence of a magnetic field. The work focuses on the analysis of elastic scattering and spin relaxation in collisions of O 2 ( 3 Σ g - ) molecules at cold (∼0.1 K) and ultracold (∼10 -6 K) temperatures. Our calculations show that magnetic spin relaxation in molecule-molecule collisions is extremely efficient except at magnetic fields below 1 mT. The rate constant for spin relaxation at T=0.1 K and a magnetic field of 0.1 T is found to be as large as 6.1x10 -11 cm -3 s -1 . The magnetic field dependence of elastic and inelastic scattering cross sections at ultracold temperatures is dominated by a manifold of Feshbach resonances with the density of ∼100 resonances per Tesla for collisions of molecules in the absolute ground state. This suggests that the scattering length of ultracold molecules in the absolute ground state can be effectively tuned in a very wide range of magnetic fields. Our calculations demonstrate that the number and properties of the magnetic Feshbach resonances are dramatically different for molecules in the absolute ground and excited spin states. The density of Feshbach resonances for molecule-molecule scattering in the low-field-seeking Zeeman state is reduced by a factor of 10.

Strong dependence of ultracold chemical rates on electric dipole moments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quemener, Goulven; Bohn, John L.

2010-01-01

We use the quantum threshold laws combined with a classical capture model to provide an analytical estimate of the chemical quenching cross sections and rate coefficients of two colliding particles at ultralow temperatures. We apply this quantum threshold model (QT model) to indistinguishable fermionic polar molecules in an electric field. At ultracold temperatures and in weak electric fields, the cross sections and rate coefficients depend only weakly on the electric dipole moment d induced by the electric field. In stronger electric fields, the quenching processes scale as d 4(L+(1/2)) where L>0 is the orbital angular-momentum quantum number between the two colliding particles. For p-wave collisions (L=1) of indistinguishable fermionic polar molecules at ultracold temperatures, the quenching rate thus scales as d 6 . We also apply this model to pure two-dimensional collisions and find that chemical rates vanish as d -4 for ultracold indistinguishable fermions. This model provides a quick and intuitive way to estimate chemical rate coefficients of reactions occuring with high probability.

Stability of a fully magnetized ferromagnetic state in repulsively interacting ultracold Fermi gases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cui Xiaoling; Zhai Hui

2010-01-01

We construct a variational wave function to study whether a fully polarized Fermi sea of ultracold atoms is energetically stable against a single spin flip. Our variational wave function contains short-range correlations at least to the same level as Gutzwiller's projected wave function. For the Hubbard lattice model and the continuum model with pure repulsive interaction, we show that a fully polarized Fermi sea is generally unstable even for infinite repulsive strength. By contrast, for a resonance model, the ferromagnetic state is possible if the s-wave scattering length is positive and sufficiently large and the system is prepared to be orthogonal to the molecular bound state. However, we cannot rule out the possibility that more exotic correlations can destabilize the ferromagnetic state.

Ultra-cold molecules in an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate

Science.gov (United States)

Wynar, Roahn Helden

2000-08-01

This thesis is about photoassociation of Bose-condensed 87Rb. Most importantly we report that state selected 87Rb2 molecules were created at rest in a condensate of 87Rb using two-photon photoassociation. Additionally, we have identified three weakly bound states of the 87Rb2 S+u3 , potential for the |1, -1> + |1, - 1> collisional channel. The binding energies of these states are 529.4 +/- .07, 636.0094 +/- .0012, and 24.24 +/- .01 MHz respectively. We have also carried out a detailed study of the density dependence of the shift and width of the two-photon lineshape. This shift and width is modeled using the theory of Bohn and Julienne [34] and in addition to the precise measurement of binding energy we also report the first measurement of an atom molecule scattering length, aam, which we conclude is -180 +/- 150 a0, and the inelastic collision rate, Kinel dependent coherent coupling between atoms and molecules. This theory yields two coupled equations, one for the evolution of atomic condensate amplitude and one for the evolution of molecular condensate amplitude. The nature of the atomic-molecular condensate evolution is shown to depend on six, model parameters including the coherent coupling, given by cn . The other five parameters can be interpreted as light-shifts and incoherent loss rates. We present a calculation intended to estimate the values of these six parameters for the 87Rb - 87Rb 2 system. Based on the results of this calculation we identify two locations in the 87Rb2 spectrum where coherent transfer of population from atomic condensate to molecular condensate is plausible. Finally, we examine the credibility of the theoretical model used to estimate the six parameters used by the mean field theory. By comparing the measured Stark shifts of two-color resonances with predictions based on our theoretical model we conclude that the model is satisfactory for the v = 37 level of the S+u3 potential. This work also describes the experimental details of

Atom history, from intuitive ideas to reality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radvanyi, P.

2007-01-01

This book gathers the ground scientific texts that have stood out as milestones in the way scientists have built their understanding of the atom over centuries. From the very intuitive ideas of Greek philosophers to the most recent results on ultra-cold atoms, via the discovery of natural radioactivity or the existence of the neutron, about 55 articles written by prestigious physicists have been organized into 16 chapters. Each chapter being dedicated to a topic such as molecules, spectroscopy, electrons, X-rays, atom mass, artificial radioactivity..., begins with a commentary that draws the scientific context of that time, describes the links between the articles and highlights the importance of the discoveries. (A.C.)

Atom loss resonances in a Bose-Einstein condensate.

Science.gov (United States)

Langmack, Christian; Smith, D Hudson; Braaten, Eric

2013-07-12

Atom loss resonances in ultracold trapped atoms have been observed at scattering lengths near atom-dimer resonances, at which Efimov trimers cross the atom-dimer threshold, and near two-dimer resonances, at which universal tetramers cross the dimer-dimer threshold. We propose a new mechanism for these loss resonances in a Bose-Einstein condensate of atoms. As the scattering length is ramped to the large final value at which the atom loss rate is measured, the time-dependent scattering length generates a small condensate of shallow dimers coherently from the atom condensate. The coexisting atom and dimer condensates can be described by a low-energy effective field theory with universal coefficients that are determined by matching exact results from few-body physics. The classical field equations for the atom and dimer condensates predict narrow enhancements in the atom loss rate near atom-dimer resonances and near two-dimer resonances due to inelastic dimer collisions.

Determination of the Axial-Vector Weak Coupling Constant with Ultracold Neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, J.; Mendenhall, M. P.; Carr, R.; Filippone, B. W.; Hickerson, K. P.; Perez Galvan, A.; Russell, R.; Holley, A. T.; Hoagland, J.; VornDick, B.; Back, H. O.; Pattie, R. W. Jr.; Young, A. R.; Bowles, T. J.; Clayton, S.; Currie, S.; Hogan, G. E.; Ito, T. M.; Makela, M.; Morris, C. L.

2010-01-01

A precise measurement of the neutron decay β asymmetry A 0 has been carried out using polarized ultracold neutrons from the pulsed spallation ultracold neutron source at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center. Combining data obtained in 2008 and 2009, we report A 0 =-0.119 66±0.000 89 -0.00140 +0.00123 , from which we determine the ratio of the axial-vector to vector weak coupling of the nucleon g A /g V =-1.275 90 -0.00445 +0.00409 .

Fast switching of alkali atom dispensers using laser-induced heating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Griffin, P.F.; Weatherill, K.J.; Adams, C.S.

2005-01-01

We show that by using an intense laser source to locally heat an alkali atom dispenser, one can generate a high flux of atoms followed by fast recovery (<100 ms) of the background pressure when the laser is extinguished. For repeated heating pulses a switch-on time for the atomic flux of 200 ms is readily attainable. This technique is suited to ultracold atom experiments using simple ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) chambers. Laser-induced heating provides a fast repetition of the experimental cycle, which, combined with low atom loss due to background gas collisions, is particularly useful for experiments involving far-off resonance optical traps, where sufficient laser power (0.5-4 W) is readily available

Manipulation of ultracold atoms in dressed adiabatic radio-frequency potentials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lesanovsky, Igor; Hofferberth, S.; Schmiedmayer, Jörg

2006-01-01

We explore properties of atoms whose magnetic hyperfine sublevels are coupled by an external magnetic radio frequency (rf) field. We perform a thorough theoretical analysis of this driven system and present a number of systematic approximations which eventually give rise to dressed adiabatic radio...... frequency potentials. The predictions of this analytical investigation are compared to numerically exact results obtained by a wave packet propagation. We outline the versatility and flexibility of this class of potentials and demonstrate their potential use to build atom optical elements such as double...... wells, interferometers, and ringtraps. Moreover, we perform simulations of interference experiments carried out in rf induced double-well potentials. We discuss how the nature of the atom-field coupling mechanism gives rise to a decrease of the interference contrast....

Photon-Induced Spin-Orbit Coupling in Ultracold Atoms inside Optical Cavity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lin Dong

2015-05-01

Full Text Available We consider an atom inside a ring cavity, where a plane-wave cavity field together with an external coherent laser beam induces a two-photon Raman transition between two hyperfine ground states of the atom. This cavity-assisted Raman transition induces effective coupling between atom’s internal degrees of freedom and its center-of-mass motion. In the meantime, atomic dynamics exerts a back-action to cavity photons. We investigate the properties of this system by adopting a mean-field and a full quantum approach, and show that the interplay between the atomic dynamics and the cavity field gives rise to intriguing nonlinear phenomena.

Thermoelectric transport and Peltier cooling of cold atomic gases

Science.gov (United States)

Grenier, Charles; Kollath, Corinna; Georges, Antoine

2016-12-01

This brief review presents the emerging field of mesoscopic physics with cold atoms, with an emphasis on thermal and 'thermoelectric' transport, i.e. coupled transport of particles and entropy. We review in particular the comparison between theoretically predicted and experimentally observed thermoelectric effects in such systems. We also show how combining well-designed transport properties and evaporative cooling leads to an equivalent of the Peltier effect with cold atoms, which can be used as a new cooling procedure with improved cooling power and efficiency compared to the evaporative cooling currently used in atomic gases. This could lead to a new generation of experiments probing strong correlation effects of ultracold fermionic atoms at low temperatures.

Production and spectroscopy of ultracold YbRb{sup *} molecules

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nemitz, Nils

2008-11-15

This thesis describes the formation of electronically excited but translationally cold molecules formed from rubidium atoms and two isotopes of ytterbium ({sup 176}Yb and {sup 174}Yb) by means of photoassociation. The experiments were performed in a combined MOT with 10{sup 9} rubidium atoms and 2.10{sup 6} ytterbium atoms at temperatures of less than 1 mK. Photoassociation lines were found by trap loss spectroscopy throughout a wavelength range of 2 nm near the 795 nm D1 transition in rubidium. The majority of lines belong to two vibrational series in the excited YbRb{sup *} molecule, converging on a system of a ground state ytterbium atom and an excited rubidium atom. The strong variation of line strength between different vibrational lines is explained through the Franck-Condon principle. An improved version of the Leroy-Bernstein equation was used to extract the leading dispersion coefficient of the potential from the vibrational progression. Most of the observed lines show a resolved rotational structure as expected from a basic quantum mechanical model. The series terminates with the third or forth rotational component due to the ground state centrifugal barrier.The measured rotational constants agree very well with calculations based on the C{sub 6} coefficient. The discovery of a splitting of the rotational components into subcomponents indicates an uncommon angular momentum coupling described by Hund's case. Variations in the depth of the subcomponents indicates a similar splitting in the ground state, with the energies of the substates based on the alignment of the rubidium atom's magnetic dipole moment relative to the angular momentum carried by an approaching ytterbium atom. This creates an additional ground state barrier, partially suppressing some of the subcomponents. Using a rate equation model developed for this purpose, a maximum formation rate of 2.5.10{sup 6} molecules per second was calculated over the volume of the entire trap. The

Quantum versus classical statistical dynamics of an ultracold Bose gas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berges, Juergen; Gasenzer, Thomas

2007-01-01

We investigate the conditions under which quantum fluctuations are relevant for the quantitative interpretation of experiments with ultracold Bose gases. This requires to go beyond the description in terms of the Gross-Pitaevskii and Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov mean-field theories, which can be obtained as classical (statistical) field-theory approximations of the quantum many-body problem. We employ functional-integral techniques based on the two-particle irreducible (2PI) effective action. The role of quantum fluctuations is studied within the nonperturbative 2PI 1/N expansion to next-to-leading order. At this accuracy level memory integrals enter the dynamic equations, which differ for quantum and classical statistical descriptions. This can be used to obtain a classicality condition for the many-body dynamics. We exemplify this condition by studying the nonequilibrium evolution of a one-dimensional Bose gas of sodium atoms, and discuss some distinctive properties of quantum versus classical statistical dynamics

Optimization study of ultracold neutron sources at TRIGA reactors using MCNP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pokotilovskij, Yu.N.; Rogov, A.D.

1997-01-01

Monte Carlo simulation for the optimization of ultracold and very cold neutron sources for TRIGA reactors is performed. The calculations of thermal and cold neutron fluxes from the TRIGA reactor for different positions and configurations of a very cold solid methane moderator were performed with using the MCNP program. The production of neutrons in the ultracold and very cold energy range was calculated for the most promising final moderators (converters): very cold solid deuterium and heavy methane. The radiation energy deposition was calculated for the optimized solid methane-heavy methane cold neutron moderator

s-wave elastic scattering of antihydrogen off atomic alkali-metal targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sinha, Prabal K.; Ghosh, A. S.

2006-01-01

We have investigated the s-wave elastic scattering of antihydrogen atoms off atomic alkali-metal targets (Li, Na, K, and Rb) at thermal energies (10 -16 -10 -4 a.u.) using an atomic orbital expansion technique. The elastic cross sections of these systems at thermal energies are found to be very high compared to H-H and H-He systems. The theoretical models employed in this study are so chosen to consider long-range forces dynamically in the calculation. The mechanism of cooling suggests that Li may be considered to be a good candidate as a buffer gas for enhanced cooling of antihydrogen atoms to ultracold temperature

High-resolution internal state control of ultracold 23Na87Rb molecules

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Mingyang; Ye, Xin; He, Junyu; Quéméner, Goulven; Wang, Dajun

2018-02-01

We report the full internal state control of ultracold 23Na87Rb molecules, including vibrational, rotational, and hyperfine degrees of freedom. Starting from a sample of weakly bound Feshbach molecules, we realize the creation of molecules in single hyperfine levels of both the rovibrational ground and excited states with a high-efficiency and high-resolution stimulated Raman adiabatic passage. This capability brings broad possibilities for investigating ultracold polar molecules with different chemical reactivities and interactions with a single molecular species. Moreover, starting from the rovibrational and hyperfine ground state, we achieve rotational and hyperfine control with one- and two-photon microwave spectroscopy to reach levels not accessible by the stimulated Raman transfer. The combination of these two techniques results in complete control over the internal state of ultracold polar molecules, which paves the way to study state-dependent molecular collisions and state-controlled chemical reactions.

Geometric phase effects in ultracold chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Hazra, Jisha; Naduvalath, Balakrishnan; Kendrick, Brian K.

2016-05-01

In molecules, the geometric phase, also known as Berry's phase, originates from the adiabatic transport of the electronic wavefunction when the nuclei follow a closed path encircling a conical intersection between two electronic potential energy surfaces. It is demonstrated that the inclusion of the geometric phase has an important effect on ultracold chemical reaction rates. The effect appears in rotationally and vibrationally resolved integral cross sections as well as cross sections summed over all product quantum states. It arises from interference between scattering amplitudes of two reaction pathways: a direct path and a looping path that encircle the conical intersection between the two lowest adiabatic electronic potential energy surfaces. Illustrative results are presented for the O+ OH --> H+ O2 reaction and for hydrogen exchange in H+ H2 and D+HD reactions. It is also qualitatively demonstrated that the geometric phase effect can be modulated by applying an external electric field allowing the possibility of quantum control of chemical reactions in the ultracold regime. This work was supported in part by NSF Grant PHY-1505557 (N.B.) and ARO MURI Grant No. W911NF-12-1-0476 (N.B.).

Manipulating ultracold polar molecules with microwave radiation: The influence of hyperfine structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aldegunde, J.; Hutson, Jeremy M.; Ran Hong

2009-01-01

We calculate the microwave spectra of ultracold 40 K 87 Rb alkali-metal dimers, including hyperfine interactions and in the presence of electric and magnetic fields. We show that microwave transitions may be used to transfer molecules between different hyperfine states, but only because of the presence of nuclear quadrupole interactions. Hyperfine splittings may also complicate the use of ultracold molecules for quantum computing. The spectrum of molecules oriented in electric fields may be simplified dramatically by applying a simultaneous magnetic field.

Photo-associative ionization in ultracold sodium atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bagnato, V.; Marcassa, L.; Tsao, C.; Wang, Y.; Weiner, J.

1993-01-01

We study photo-associative ionization (PAI) for sodium atoms held in a magneto-optical trap (T < 1 mK). The process is investigated using one and two laser frequencies. For a single color PAI, we measure the rate constant as a function of light intensity and the result is compared with calculation based on semiclassical Bloch equation theory. The measured rate constant appears to saturate sooner than theory. In the two-color PAI (TCPAI) we investigate individual steps of the process. Different combinations of laser frequencies prepare different populations in each of the hyperfine ground state and the contribution of each one in this collisional process is investigated. The comparison with theory allows a fairly clear understanding of PAI and TCPAI

Dynamic of cold-atom tips in anharmonic potentials

Science.gov (United States)

Menold, Tobias; Federsel, Peter; Rogulj, Carola; Hölscher, Hendrik; Fortágh, József

2016-01-01

Background: Understanding the dynamics of ultracold quantum gases in an anharmonic potential is essential for applications in the new field of cold-atom scanning probe microscopy. Therein, cold atomic ensembles are used as sensitive probe tips to investigate nanostructured surfaces and surface-near potentials, which typically cause anharmonic tip motion. Results: Besides a theoretical description of this anharmonic tip motion, we introduce a novel method for detecting the cold-atom tip dynamics in situ and real time. In agreement with theory, the first measurements show that particle interactions and anharmonic motion have a significant impact on the tip dynamics. Conclusion: Our findings will be crucial for the realization of high-sensitivity force spectroscopy with cold-atom tips and could possibly allow for the development of advanced spectroscopic techniques such as Q-control. PMID:28144505

Virtual states, halos and resonances in three-body atomic and nuclear systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frederico, T.; Yamashita, M.T.; Tomio, L.

2009-01-01

By considering nuclear and ultracold trapped atomic systems, we review the trajectory of Efimov excited states in the complex plane by changing the two-body scattering lengths and one three-body scale. This article is based on the presentation by T. Frederico at the Fifth Workshop on Critical Stability, Erice, Sicily. (author)

Diffusion of Magnetized Binary Ionic Mixtures at Ultracold Plasma Conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Vidal, Keith R.; Baalrud, Scott D.

2017-10-01

Ultracold plasma experiments offer an accessible means to test transport theories for strongly coupled systems. Application of an external magnetic field might further increase their utility by inhibiting heating mechanisms of ions and electrons and increasing the temperature at which strong coupling effects are observed. We present results focused on developing and validating a transport theory to describe binary ionic mixtures across a wide range of coupling and magnetization strengths relevant to ultracold plasma experiments. The transport theory is an extension of the Effective Potential Theory (EPT), which has been shown to accurately model correlation effects at these conditions, to include magnetization. We focus on diffusion as it can be measured in ultracold plasma experiments. Using EPT within the framework of the Chapman-Enskog expansion, the parallel and perpendicular self and interdiffusion coefficients for binary ionic mixtures with varying mass ratios are calculated and are compared to molecular dynamics simulations. The theory is found to accurately extend Braginskii-like transport to stronger coupling, but to break down when the magnetization strength becomes large enough that the typical gyroradius is smaller than the interaction scale length. This material is based upon work supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under Award Number FA9550-16-1-0221.

Sub-Doppler temperature measurements of laser-cooled atoms using optical nanofibres

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Russell, Laura; Daly, Mark J; Chormaic, Síle Nic; Deasy, Kieran; Morrissey, Michael J

2012-01-01

We present a method for measuring the average temperature of a cloud of cold 85 Rb atoms in a magneto-optical trap using an optical nanofibre. A periodic spatial variation is applied to the magnetic fields generated by the trapping coils and this causes the trap centre to oscillate, which, in turn, causes the cloud of cold atoms to oscillate. The optical nanofibre is used to collect the fluorescence emitted by the cold atoms, and the frequency response between the motion of the centre of the oscillating trap and the cloud of atoms is determined. This allows us to make measurements of cloud temperature both above and below the Doppler limit, thereby paving the way for nanofibres to be integrated with ultracold atoms for hybrid quantum devices

Lamb-Dicke spectroscopy of atoms in a hollow-core photonic crystal fibre

Science.gov (United States)

Okaba, Shoichi; Takano, Tetsushi; Benabid, Fetah; Bradley, Tom; Vincetti, Luca; Maizelis, Zakhar; Yampol'skii, Valery; Nori, Franco; Katori, Hidetoshi

2014-01-01

Unlike photons, which are conveniently handled by mirrors and optical fibres without loss of coherence, atoms lose their coherence via atom–atom and atom–wall interactions. This decoherence of atoms deteriorates the performance of atomic clocks and magnetometers, and also hinders their miniaturization. Here we report a novel platform for precision spectroscopy. Ultracold strontium atoms inside a kagome-lattice hollow-core photonic crystal fibre are transversely confined by an optical lattice to prevent atoms from interacting with the fibre wall. By confining at most one atom in each lattice site, to avoid atom–atom interactions and Doppler effect, a 7.8-kHz-wide spectrum is observed for the 1S0−3P1(m=0) transition. Atoms singly trapped in a magic lattice in hollow-core photonic crystal fibres improve the optical depth while preserving atomic coherence time. PMID:24934478

Laser diagnostics of the energy spectrum of Rydberg states of the lithium-7 atom

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zelener, B. B., E-mail: bobozel@mail.ru; Saakyan, S. A.; Sautenkov, V. A.; Manykin, E. A.; Zelener, B. V.; Fortov, V. E. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Joint Institute for High Temperatures (Russian Federation)

2015-12-15

The spectra of excited lithium-7 atoms prepared in a magneto-optical trap are studied using a UV laser. The laser diagnostics of the energy of Rydberg atoms is developed based on measurements of the change in resonance fluorescence intensity of ultracold atoms as the exciting UV radiation frequency passes through the Rydberg transition frequency. The energies of various nS configurations are obtained in a broad range of the principal quantum number n from 38 to 165. The values of the quantum defect and ionization energy obtained in experiments and predicted theoretically are discussed.

On a magnet configuration for confining ultracold neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abov, Yu.G.; Vasil'ev, V.V.; Vladimirskij, V.V.; Krupchitskij, P.A.; Rissukhin, V.K.

1977-01-01

A magnetic system for experiments on the ultracold neutron confinement is described. The magnetic field calculation results are given. They make it possible to select the geometric places of points in which the neutron depolarization may appear and to suggest the way for diminishing the depolarization

Subwavelength Localization of Atomic Excitation Using Electromagnetically Induced Transparency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. A. Miles

2013-09-01

Full Text Available We report an experiment in which an atomic excitation is localized to a spatial width that is a factor of 8 smaller than the wavelength of the incident light. The experiment utilizes the sensitivity of the dark state of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT to the intensity of the coupling laser beam. A standing-wave coupling laser with a sinusoidally varying intensity yields tightly confined Raman excitations during the EIT process. The excitations, located near the nodes of the intensity profile, have a width of 100 nm. The experiment is performed using ultracold ^{87}Rb atoms trapped in an optical dipole trap, and atomic localization is achieved with EIT pulses that are approximately 100 ns long. To probe subwavelength atom localization, we have developed a technique that can measure the width of the atomic excitations with nanometer spatial resolution.

Making ultracold molecules in a two-color pump-dump photoassociation scheme using chirped pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koch, Christiane P.; Luc-Koenig, Eliane; Masnou-Seeuws, Francoise

2006-01-01

This theoretical paper investigates the formation of ground state molecules from ultracold cesium atoms in a two-color scheme. Following previous work on photoassociation with chirped picosecond pulses [Luc-Koenig et al., Phys. Rev. A, 70, 033414 (2004)], we investigate stabilization by a second (dump) pulse. By appropriately choosing the dump pulse parameters and time delay with respect to the photoassociation pulse, we show that a large number of deeply bound molecules are created in the ground triplet state. We discuss (i) broad-bandwidth dump pulses which maximize the probability to form molecules while creating a broad vibrational distribution as well as (ii) narrow-bandwidth pulses populating a single vibrational ground state level, bound by 113 cm -1 . The use of chirped pulses makes the two-color scheme robust, simple, and efficient

Controlling interactions between highly magnetic atoms with Feshbach resonances.

Science.gov (United States)

Kotochigova, Svetlana

2014-09-01

This paper reviews current experimental and theoretical progress in the study of dipolar quantum gases of ground and meta-stable atoms with a large magnetic moment. We emphasize the anisotropic nature of Feshbach resonances due to coupling to fast-rotating resonant molecular states in ultracold s-wave collisions between magnetic atoms in external magnetic fields. The dramatic differences in the distribution of resonances of magnetic (7)S3 chromium and magnetic lanthanide atoms with a submerged 4f shell and non-zero electron angular momentum is analyzed. We focus on dysprosium and erbium as important experimental advances have been recently made to cool and create quantum-degenerate gases for these atoms. Finally, we describe progress in locating resonances in collisions of meta-stable magnetic atoms in electronic P-states with ground-state atoms, where an interplay between collisional anisotropies and spin-orbit coupling exists.

Bloch oscillations of ultracold atoms and measurement of the fine structure constant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clade, P.

2005-10-01

From a measurement of the recoil velocity of an atom absorbing a photon, it is possible to deduce a determination of the ratio h/m between the Planck constant and the mass of the atoms and then to deduce a value of the fine structure constant alpha. To do this measurement, we use the technique of Bloch oscillations, which allows us to transfer a large number of recoils to atoms. A velocity sensor, based on velocity selective Raman transition, enables us to measure the momentum transferred to the atoms. A measurement with a statistical uncertainty of 4.4 10 -9 , in conjunction with a careful study of systematic effects (5 10 -9 ), has led us to a determination of alpha with an uncertainty of 6.7 10 -9 : α -1 (Rb) = 137.03599878 (91). This uncertainty is similar to the uncertainty of the best determinations of alpha based on atom interferometry. (author)

Association of atoms into universal dimers using an oscillating magnetic field.

Science.gov (United States)

Langmack, Christian; Smith, D Hudson; Braaten, Eric

2015-03-13

In a system of ultracold atoms near a Feshbach resonance, pairs of atoms can be associated into universal dimers by an oscillating magnetic field with a frequency near that determined by the dimer binding energy. We present a simple expression for the transition rate that takes into account many-body effects through a transition matrix element of the contact. In a thermal gas, the width of the peak in the transition rate as a function of the frequency is determined by the temperature. In a dilute Bose-Einstein condensate of atoms, the width is determined by the inelastic scattering rates of a dimer with zero-energy atoms. Near an atom-dimer resonance, there is a dramatic increase in the width from inelastic atom-dimer scattering and from atom-atom-dimer recombination. The recombination contribution provides a signature for universal tetramers that are Efimov states consisting of two atoms and a dimer.

Atom Interferometry with Ultracold Quantum Gases in a Microgravity Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Jason; D'Incao, Jose; Chiow, Sheng-Wey; Yu, Nan

2015-05-01

Precision atom interferometers (AI) in space promise exciting technical capabilities for fundamental physics research, with proposals including unprecedented tests of the weak equivalence principle, precision measurements of the fine structure and gravitational constants, and detection of gravity waves and dark energy. Consequently, multiple AI-based missions have been proposed to NASA, including a dual-atomic-species interferometer that is to be integrated into the Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL) onboard the International Space Station. In this talk, I will discuss our plans and preparation at JPL for the proposed flight experiments to use the CAL facility to study the leading-order systematics expected to corrupt future high-precision measurements of fundamental physics with AIs in microgravity. The project centers on the physics of pairwise interactions and molecular dynamics in these quantum systems as a means to overcome uncontrolled shifts associated with the gravity gradient and few-particle collisions. We will further utilize the CAL AI for proof-of-principle tests of systematic mitigation and phase-readout techniques for use in the next-generation of precision metrology experiments based on AIs in microgravity. This research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Ultracold neutron detectors based on {sup 10}B converters used in the qBounce experiments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jenke, Tobias, E-mail: tjenke@ati.ac.at [Atominstitut TU Wien, Stadionallee 2, 1020 Wien (Austria); Cronenberg, Gunther; Filter, Hanno [Atominstitut TU Wien, Stadionallee 2, 1020 Wien (Austria); Geltenbort, Peter [Institut Laue-Langevin, 6 rue Jules Horowitz, 38042 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France); Klein, Martin [Physikalisches Institut Universität Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 226, 69120 Heidelberg (Germany); Lauer, Thorsten [FRM II, TU München, Lichtenbergstraße 1, 85748 Garching (Germany); Mitsch, Kevin [Atominstitut TU Wien, Stadionallee 2, 1020 Wien (Austria); Saul, Heiko [Atominstitut TU Wien, Stadionallee 2, 1020 Wien (Austria); FRM II, TU München, Lichtenbergstraße 1, 85748 Garching (Germany); Seiler, Dominik [Physik Department, TU München, James-Franck-Straße, 85748 Garching (Germany); Stadler, David [Physikalisches Institut Universität Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 226, 69120 Heidelberg (Germany); Thalhammer, Martin [Atominstitut TU Wien, Stadionallee 2, 1020 Wien (Austria); Abele, Hartmut, E-mail: abele@ati.ac.at [Atominstitut TU Wien, Stadionallee 2, 1020 Wien (Austria); Physikalisches Institut Universität Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 226, 69120 Heidelberg (Germany); Physik Department, TU München, James-Franck-Straße, 85748 Garching (Germany)

2013-12-21

Gravity experiments with very slow, so-called ultracold neutrons connect quantum mechanics with tests of Newton's inverse square law at short distances. These experiments face a low count rate and hence need highly optimized detector concepts. In the frame of this paper, we present low-background ultracold neutron counters and track detectors with micron resolution based on a {sup 10}B converter. We discuss the optimization of {sup 10}B converter layers, detector design and concepts for read-out electronics focusing on high-efficiency and low-background. We describe modifications of the counters that allow one to detect ultracold neutrons selectively on their spin-orientation. This is required for searches of hypothetical forces with spin–mass couplings. The mentioned experiments utilize a beam-monitoring concept which accounts for variations in the neutron flux that are typical for nuclear research facilities. The converter can also be used for detectors, which feature high efficiencies paired with high spatial resolution of 1–2μm. They allow one to resolve the quantum mechanical wave function of an ultracold neutron bound in the gravity potential above a neutron mirror.

Thermalization and Prethermalization in an ultracold Bose Gas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuhnert, M.

2013-01-01

Atom chips consist of microscopic current carrying structures that generate magnetic trapping potentials for ultracold neutral atoms. These atom chips provide a high design flexibility of possible trap geometries, making the creation of highly anisotropic trapping potentials feasible. The resulting magnetic traps are characterized by a high isolation from the environment and are used to create degenerate, one-dimensional (1d) Bose gases. On typical experimental time scales, these 1d Bose gases can be described as practically closed quantum many-body systems. By applying a rapid quantum quench, the many-body system is brought out of thermal equilibrium and the resulting dynamics are studied via the statistical properties of matter-wave interference measurements. These measured quantum statistical distributions reveal that thermalization of this effectively integrable 1d Bose gas happens in a two-step process. First, the system rapidly dephases to a prethermalized state, characterized by thermal-like correlation properties, which are still distinctly different from the true thermal equilibrium state. Second, on a much longer time scale, the measured distribution functions indicate a further decay to the true thermal equilibrium state. Furthermore, by studying a highly non-equilibrium system via matter-wave interferometry, the underlying multimode dynamics, characterizing one-dimensional quantum systems, are revealed. This thesis shows that these dynamics are essential in establishing the prethermalized state and that its properties are defined by the quantum shot noise of the splitting process. In conclusion, this work aims at improving the understanding of quantum thermalization processes in integrable and nearly-integrable systems in the 1d and 1d/3d crossover regimes. Apparently, the general paths to thermal equilibrium in nearly-integrable systems are indirect and complex. This work provides an in depth experimental study of the relaxation dynamics of a highly

Trapping hydrogen atoms from a neon-gas matrix: a theoretical simulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Bovino, S; Zhang, P; Kharchenko, V; Dalgarno, A

2009-08-07

Hydrogen is of critical importance in atomic and molecular physics and the development of a simple and efficient technique for trapping cold and ultracold hydrogen atoms would be a significant advance. In this study we simulate a recently proposed trap-loading mechanism for trapping hydrogen atoms released from a neon matrix. Accurate ab initio quantum calculations are reported of the neon-hydrogen interaction potential and the energy- and angular-dependent elastic scattering cross sections that control the energy transfer of initially cold atoms are obtained. They are then used to construct the Boltzmann kinetic equation, describing the energy relaxation process. Numerical solutions of the Boltzmann equation predict the time evolution of the hydrogen energy distribution function. Based on the simulations we discuss the prospects of the technique.

Thermodynamics of ultracold Fermi gases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nascimbene, Sylvain

2010-01-01

Complex Hamiltonians from condensed matter, such as the Fermi-Hubbard model, can be experimentally studied using ultracold gases. This thesis describes a new method for determining the equation of state of an ultracold gas, making the comparison with many-body theories straightforward. It is based on the measurement of the local pressure inside a trapped gas from the analysis of its in situ image. We first apply this method to the study of a Fermi gas with resonant interactions, a weakly-interacting 7 Li gas acting as a thermometer. Surprisingly, none of the existing many-body theories of the unitary gas accounts for the equation of state deduced from our study over its full range. The virial expansion extracted from the high-temperature data agrees with the resolution of the three-body problem. At low temperature, we observe, contrary to some previous studies, that the normal phase behaves as a Fermi liquid. Finally we obtain the critical temperature for superfluidity from a clear signature on the equation of state. We also measure the pressure of the ground state as a function of spin imbalance and interaction strength - measure directly relevant to describe the crust of neutron stars. Our data validate Monte-Carlo simulations and quantify the Lee-Huang-Yang corrections to mean-field interactions in low-density fermionic or bosonic superfluids. We show that, in most cases, the partially polarized normal phase can be described as a Fermi liquid of polarons. The polaron effective mass extracted from the equation of state is in agreement with a study of collective modes. (author)

Highly versatile atomic micro traps generated by multifrequency magnetic field modulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Courteille, Ph W; Deh, B; Fortagh, J; Guenther, A; Kraft, S; Marzok, C; Slama, S; Zimmermann, C

2006-01-01

We propose the realization of custom-designed adiabatic potentials for cold atoms based on multimode radio frequency radiation in combination with static inhomogeneous magnetic fields. For example, the use of radio frequency combs gives rise to periodic potentials acting as gratings for cold atoms. In strong magnetic field gradients, the lattice constant can be well below 1 μm. By changing the frequencies of the comb in time the gratings can easily be propagated in space, which may prove useful for Bragg scattering atomic matter waves. Furthermore, almost arbitrarily shaped potentials are possible such as disordered potentials on a scale of several 100 nm or lattices with a spatially varying lattice constant. The potentials can be made state selective and, in the case of atomic mixtures, also species selective. This opens new perspectives for generating tailored quantum systems based on ultracold single atoms or degenerate atomic and molecular quantum gases

Editorial: Focus on Atom Optics and its Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt-Kaler, F.; Pfau, T.; Schmelcher, P.; Schleich, W.

2010-06-01

Atom optics employs the modern techniques of quantum optics and laser cooling to enable applications which often outperform current standard technologies. Atomic matter wave interferometers allow for ultra-precise sensors; metrology and clocks are pushed to an extraordinary accuracy of 17 digits using single atoms. Miniaturization and integration are driven forward for both atomic clocks and atom optical circuits. With the miniaturization of information-storage and -processing devices, the scale of single atoms is approached in solid state devices, where the laws of quantum physics lead to novel, advantageous features and functionalities. An upcoming branch of atom optics is the control of single atoms, potentially allowing solid state devices to be built atom by atom; some of which would be applicable in future quantum information processing devices. Selective manipulation of individual atoms also enables trace analysis of extremely rare isotopes. Additionally, sources of neutral atoms with high brightness are being developed and, if combined with photo ionization, even novel focused ion beam sources are within reach. Ultracold chemistry is fertilized by atomic techniques, when reactions of chemical constituents are investigated between ions, atoms, molecules, trapped or aligned in designed fields and cooled to ultra-low temperatures such that the reaction kinetics can be studied in a completely state-resolved manner. Focus on Atom Optics and its Applications Contents Sensitive gravity-gradiometry with atom interferometry: progress towards an improved determination of the gravitational constant F Sorrentino, Y-H Lien, G Rosi, L Cacciapuoti, M Prevedelli and G M Tino A single-atom detector integrated on an atom chip: fabrication, characterization and application D Heine, W Rohringer, D Fischer, M Wilzbach, T Raub, S Loziczky, XiYuan Liu, S Groth, B Hessmo and J Schmiedmayer Interaction of a propagating guided matter wave with a localized potential G L Gattobigio, A

Experimental testing of the dispersion law of ultracold neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bondarenko, I.V.; Krasnoperov, A.V.; Frank, A.I.; Geltenbort, P.; Hoghoj, P.; Klein, A.G.; Cimmino, A.; Masalovich, S.V.; Nosov, V.G.

1998-01-01

Experiment on testing the generally accepted laws on ultracold neutron dispersion is described. The experiment is based on search of displacement lines of a neutron interference filter resonance by variation of neutrons rapidity component, parallel to the filter surface. The first results testify to the presence of statistically meaningful effect

Robust mesoscopic superposition of strongly correlated ultracold atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hallwood, David W.; Ernst, Thomas; Brand, Joachim

2010-01-01

We propose a scheme to create coherent superpositions of annular flow of strongly interacting bosonic atoms in a one-dimensional ring trap. The nonrotating ground state is coupled to a vortex state with mesoscopic angular momentum by means of a narrow potential barrier and an applied phase that originates from either rotation or a synthetic magnetic field. We show that superposition states in the Tonks-Girardeau regime are robust against single-particle loss due to the effects of strong correlations. The coupling between the mesoscopically distinct states scales much more favorably with particle number than in schemes relying on weak interactions, thus making particle numbers of hundreds or thousands feasible. Coherent oscillations induced by time variation of parameters may serve as a 'smoking gun' signature for detecting superposition states.

Quantum measurement-induced dynamics of many-body ultracold bosonic and fermionic systems in optical lattices

Science.gov (United States)

Mazzucchi, Gabriel; Kozlowski, Wojciech; Caballero-Benitez, Santiago F.; Elliott, Thomas J.; Mekhov, Igor B.

2016-02-01

Trapping ultracold atoms in optical lattices enabled numerous breakthroughs uniting several disciplines. Coupling these systems to quantized light leads to a plethora of new phenomena and has opened up a new field of study. Here we introduce an unusual additional source of competition in a many-body strongly correlated system: We prove that quantum backaction of global measurement is able to efficiently compete with intrinsic short-range dynamics of an atomic system. The competition becomes possible due to the ability to change the spatial profile of a global measurement at a microscopic scale comparable to the lattice period without the need of single site addressing. In coherence with a general physical concept, where new competitions typically lead to new phenomena, we demonstrate nontrivial dynamical effects such as large-scale multimode oscillations, long-range entanglement, and correlated tunneling, as well as selective suppression and enhancement of dynamical processes beyond the projective limit of the quantum Zeno effect. We demonstrate both the breakup and protection of strongly interacting fermion pairs by measurement. Such a quantum optical approach introduces into many-body physics novel processes, objects, and methods of quantum engineering, including the design of many-body entangled environments for open systems.

Response Functions for the Two-Dimensional Ultracold Fermi Gas: Dynamical BCS Theory and Beyond

Science.gov (United States)

Vitali, Ettore; Shi, Hao; Qin, Mingpu; Zhang, Shiwei

2017-12-01

Response functions are central objects in physics. They provide crucial information about the behavior of physical systems, and they can be directly compared with scattering experiments involving particles such as neutrons or photons. Calculations of such functions starting from the many-body Hamiltonian of a physical system are challenging and extremely valuable. In this paper, we focus on the two-dimensional (2D) ultracold Fermi atomic gas which has been realized experimentally. We present an application of the dynamical BCS theory to obtain response functions for different regimes of interaction strengths in the 2D gas with zero-range attractive interaction. We also discuss auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo (AFQMC) methods for the calculation of imaginary time correlations in these dilute Fermi gas systems. Illustrative results are given and comparisons are made between AFQMC and dynamical BCS theory results to assess the accuracy of the latter.

Time-Dependent Impurity in Ultracold Fermions: Orthogonality Catastrophe and Beyond

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Knap

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The recent experimental realization of strongly imbalanced mixtures of ultracold atoms opens new possibilities for studying impurity dynamics in a controlled setting. In this paper, we discuss how the techniques of atomic physics can be used to explore new regimes and manifestations of Anderson’s orthogonality catastrophe (OC, which could not be accessed in solid-state systems. Specifically, we consider a system of impurity atoms, localized by a strong optical-lattice potential, immersed in a sea of itinerant Fermi atoms. We point out that the Ramsey-interference-type experiments with the impurity atoms allow one to study the OC in the time domain, while radio-frequency (RF spectroscopy probes the OC in the frequency domain. The OC in such systems is universal, not only in the long-time limit, but also for all times and is determined fully by the impurity-scattering length and the Fermi wave vector of the itinerant fermions. We calculate the universal Ramsey response and RF-absorption spectra. In addition to the standard power-law contributions, which correspond to the excitation of multiple particle-hole pairs near the Fermi surface, we identify a novel, important contribution to the OC that comes from exciting one extra particle from the bottom of the itinerant band. This contribution gives rise to a nonanalytic feature in the RF-absorption spectra, which shows a nontrivial dependence on the scattering length, and evolves into a true power-law singularity with the universal exponent 1/4 at the unitarity. We extend our discussion to spin-echo-type experiments, and show that they probe more complicated nonequilibirum dynamics of the Fermi gas in processes in which an impurity switches between states with different interaction strength several times; such processes play an important role in the Kondo problem, but remained out of reach in the solid-state systems. We show that, alternatively, the OC can be seen in the energy-counting statistics

Quasi-energy of ultracold neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frank, A.I.; Nosov, V.G.

1992-01-01

A solution is found to the problem of the propagation of a neutron beam transmitted through a periodically acting high-speed chopper. It is a generalization of the Moshinsky's problem of the evolution of a plane wave in the right half-space after an ideal absorber at the origin of coordinates has been instantaneously removed. The energy spectrum of transmitted neutrons is found to be discrete and corresponding to their quasi-energy. Interference of the states corresponding to different satellite lines leads to a complex spatial pattern with typical beats. A number of experiments with ultracold neutrons are suggested and discussed. 12 refs.; 1 fig

A Portable Source of Lattice-Trapped and Ultracold Strontium (PLUS), Phase II

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — We propose to demonstrate the portable source of lattice-trapped, ultracold strontium (PLUS) designed during Phase I. The device uses simplified and robust...

Time-dependent analysis of tunneling effect in the formation of ultracold molecules via photo-association of laser-cooled atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vatasescu, M.; Masnou-Seeuws, F.

2002-01-01

The paper contains a time-dependent investigation of the tunneling effect observed in the photo-association spectrum of Cs 2 and attributed to the 0 g - (6s,6p 3/2 ) double well. When by photo-association of two cold cesium atoms a vibrational level of the outer well is populated, tunneling is an efficient mechanism for transferring the population to the inner well (R 0 ), where spontaneous emission may lead to formation of cold molecules in low vibrational levels of the a 3 Σ u + (6s,6s) electronic state. This tunneling effect is analyzed by wave packets propagation, first considering the double well potential alone, and following a packet made by a superposition of states initially located at large distances. Characteristic times for the vibration dynamics, corresponding to a beating phenomenon between the two wells, to partial 'revival' at large distances, and to maxima in the population localized in the inner well are reported and discussed. Second, we simulate the two-channels a 3 Σ u + (6s,6s) → 0 g - (6s,6p 3/2 ) photo-association at detuning around 2.9 cm -1 : the inner well can be populated either by the excitation of a vibrational level of the external well (resonant excitation), or by tuning the photo-association laser at the energy of the inner well level which displays tunneling (''off-resonance excitation''). In the first case the photo-association is efficient, while the tunneling probability is small; in the second, the tunneling probability is large, so that despite the poor efficiency of the photo-association process, more population can be transferred to the inner well. This second choice is shown to be very sensitive to the laser intensity, which could be used to control the population of the inner well and hence the formation of ultracold molecules in low vibrational levels. (authors)

A portable source of lattice-trapped and ultracold strontium (PLUS), Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — We propose to design and demonstrate a portable source of lattice-trapped, ultracold strontium (PLUS). The device uses simplified and robust techniques for loading...

Radio frequency acceleration and manipulation of ultra-cold electron bunches

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Franssen, J.G.H.; Vredenbregt, E.J.D.; Luiten, O.J.

2016-01-01

We are developing an ultra-fast and ultra-cold electron source based on a grating magneto optical trap, RF acceleration and RF (de-) compression techniques. The electrons will be created by near-threshold, femtosecond photoionization of a laser-cooled and trapped gas. The electron cloud is extracted

Continuous all-optical deceleration of molecular beams and demonstration with Rb atoms

Science.gov (United States)

Long, Xueping; Jayich, Andrew; Campbell, Wesley

2017-04-01

Ultracold samples of molecules are desirable for a variety of applications, such as many-body physics, precision measurement and quantum information science. However, the pursuit of ultracold molecules has achieved limited success: spontaneous emission into many different dark states makes it hard to optically decelerate molecules to trappable speed. We propose to address this problem with a general optical deceleration technique that exploits a pump-dump pulse pair from a mode-locked laser. A molecular beam is first excited by a counter-propagating ``pump'' pulse. The molecular beam is then driven back to the initial ground state by a co-propagating ``dump'' pulse via stimulated emission. The delay between the pump and dump pulse is set to be shorter than the excited state lifetimes in order to limit decays to dark states. We report progress benchmarking this stimulated force by accelerating a cold sample of neutral Rb atoms.

Band structure engineering for ultracold quantum gases in optical lattices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weinberg, Malte

2014-01-01

the same system maps onto a quantum spin-1/2 XY model. Owing to the quantum nature of the pseudospins, geometrical frustration leads to a highly degenerate ground state which can result in exotic valence bond spin-liquid phases. First signatures of an order-by-disorder effect emerge in this regime. A complementary approach to the manipulation of the band structure is investigated in a honeycomb potential. By rotating the quantization field of the system, the statedependent energy offset between the twofold atomic basis of the hexagonal Bravais lattice can be adjusted. This purposeful breaking of inversion symmetry enables the continuous opening of an energy gap at the Dirac points of the honeycomb band structure. In addition, a striking influence of the band gap onto the lifetimes for atoms in the first excited energy band is observed. In the last part of the thesis, both experimental manipulation techniques are discussed with respect to future applications for ultracold quantum gases in non-cubic optical lattices.

Physics with Ultracold and Thermal Neutron Beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

None

2004-01-01

The final report is broken into 5 segments, reflecting research conclusions reached during specific time periods: 1991-1997, 1997-1999, 1999-2000, 2000-2001, and 2001-2002. The first part of the work reported was carried out at the 2 Mw research reactor of the Rhode Island Nuclaer Science Center (RJNSC). Chosen for study was the slow phase separation in mixtures of oil and water in the presence of a surfactant, and the structural features of an oil layer during the slow build-up from the gas phase. The results of these measurements, as well as studies of the capillary wave properties of oil/surfactant/water interfaces are described. The second part of the work was performed at the neutron reflection facilities of the Intennse Pulsed Neutron Source at Argonne and of the NBSR reactor at NIST. At Argonne, the uniaxial magnetic order of an Fe/CR superlattice was investigated, while the experiments at NIST studied the swelling behavior of ordered thin films of diblock copolymers when they were exposed to solvent vapors. The third part of the work was concerned with the storage properties of ultracold neturons in a trap. New experiments on spectral evolution during storage, using the UCN source of the Institut Laue-Langevin were able to be run. Subsequent periods focussed on the ultracold neutrons work, spin valve multilayer systems, and pseudo-partial wetting

Intertwined and vestigial order with ultracold atoms in multiple cavity modes

Science.gov (United States)

Gopalakrishnan, Sarang; Shchadilova, Yulia E.; Demler, Eugene

2017-12-01

Atoms in transversely pumped optical cavities "self-organize" by forming a density wave and emitting superradiantly into the cavity mode(s). For a single-mode cavity, the properties of this self-organization transition are well characterized both theoretically and experimentally. Here, we explore the self-organization of a Bose-Einstein condensate in the presence of two cavity modes—a system that recently was realized experimentally [Léonard et al., Nature (London) 543, 87 (2017), 10.1038/nature21067]. We argue that this system can exhibit a "vestigially ordered" phase in which neither cavity mode exhibits superradiance but the cavity modes are mutually phase locked by the atoms. We argue that this vestigially ordered phase should generically be present in multimode cavity geometries.

Fundamental Interactions for Atom Interferometry with Ultracold Quantum Gases in a Microgravity Environment

Science.gov (United States)

D'Incao, Jose P.; Willians, Jason R.

2015-05-01

Precision atom interferometers (AI) in space are a key element for several applications of interest to NASA. Our proposal for participating in the Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL) onboard the International Space Station is dedicated to mitigating the leading-order systematics expected to corrupt future high-precision AI-based measurements of fundamental physics in microgravity. One important focus of our proposal is to enhance initial state preparation for dual-species AIs. Our proposed filtering scheme uses Feshbach molecular states to create highly correlated mixtures of heteronuclear atomic gases in both their position and momentum distributions. We will detail our filtering scheme along with the main factors that determine its efficiency. We also show that the atomic and molecular heating and loss rates can be mitigated at the unique temperature and density regimes accessible on CAL. This research is supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Precision spectroscopy with ultracold 87Rb2 triplet molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strauss, Christoph

2011-01-01

In this thesis I report precision spectroscopy with ultracold 87 Rb 2 triplet molecules where we use lasers to couple the states in different molecular potentials. We study in detail states of the a 3 sum + u and (1) 3 sum + g potentials. These states are of great importance for transferring weakly bound molecules to the ro-vibrational triplet ground state via states of the excited potential. As most experiments start from molecules in their X 1 sum + g ground state, the triplet states were hard to access via dipole transitions and remained largely unexplored. The measurements presented in this thesis are the first detailed study of diatomic 87 Rb 2 molecules in these states. Our experiments start with an ultracold cloud of 87 Rb atoms. We then load this cloud into an optical lattice where we use a magnetic Feshbach resonance at 1007.4 G to perform a Feshbach association. After we have removed all unbound atoms, we end up with a pure sample of weakly bound Feshbach molecules inside the optical lattice. The optical lattice prevents these molecules from colliding with each other which results in molecular lifetimes on the order of a few hundred milliseconds. In the first set of experiments, we use a laser coupling the Feshbach state to the excited (1) 3 sum + g triplet state to map out its low-lying vibrational (v = 0.. 15), rotational, hyperfine, and Zeeman structure. The experimental results are in good agreement with calculations done by Marius Lysebo and Prof. Leif Veseth. We then map out in detail the vibrational, rotational, hyperfine, and Zeeman structure of the a 3 sum + u triplet ground state using dark state spectroscopy with levels in the (1) 3 sum + g potential as an intermediate state. In this scheme we are able to access molecules in triplet states because our Feshbach state has strong triplet character. Interestingly, it happens that some deeply bound states which belong to the X 1 sum + g potential are close to levels in the a 3 sum + u potential. In

Towards experimental quantum-field tomography with ultracold atoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Steffens, A; Friesdorf, M; Langen, T; Rauer, B; Schweigler, T; Hübener, R; Schmiedmayer, J; Riofrío, C A; Eisert, J

2015-07-03

The experimental realization of large-scale many-body systems in atomic-optical architectures has seen immense progress in recent years, rendering full tomography tools for state identification inefficient, especially for continuous systems. To work with these emerging physical platforms, new technologies for state identification are required. Here we present first steps towards efficient experimental quantum-field tomography. Our procedure is based on the continuous analogues of matrix-product states, ubiquitous in condensed-matter theory. These states naturally incorporate the locality present in realistic physical settings and are thus prime candidates for describing the physics of locally interacting quantum fields. To experimentally demonstrate the power of our procedure, we quench a one-dimensional Bose gas by a transversal split and use our method for a partial quantum-field reconstruction of the far-from-equilibrium states of this system. We expect our technique to play an important role in future studies of continuous quantum many-body systems.

A novel apparatus for the investigation of material properties for the storage of ultracold neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brys, T.; Daum, M.; Fierlinger, P.; Geltenbort, P.; George, D.; Gupta, M.; Henneck, R.; Heule, S.; Horvat, M.; Kasprzak, M.; Kirch, K.; Kohlik, K.; Negrazus, M.; Pichlmaier, A.; Straumann, U.; Vrankovic, V.; Wermelinger, C.

2005-01-01

We have built a novel apparatus for the investigation of materials for the storage of ultracold neutrons. Neutrons are filled into a storage volume, confined at the bottom by a magnetic field, at the top by gravity and at the sides by the slit-less sample surface under investigation. For different beryllium and diamond-like carbon samples, storage times up to 200s were obtained at room temperature. The corresponding loss parameters η for ultracold neutrons varied between 4.2 and 6.8x10 -4 per wall collision

Excitation of surface waves of ultracold neutrons on absorbing trap walls as anomalous loss factor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bokun, R.Ch.

2006-01-01

One analyzed probability of excitation of surface waves of ultracold neutrons in terms of a plane model consisting of three media: vacuum, a finite depth neutron absorbing substance layer and a neutron reflecting substrate. One demonstrated the absence of the mentioned surface waves in terms of the generally accepted model of two media: vacuum contiguous to the plane surface of a substance filled half-space. One pointed out the effect of the excited surface waves of ultracold neutrons on the increase of their anomalous losses in traps [ru

Fidelity for kicked atoms with gravity near a quantum resonance.

Science.gov (United States)

Dubertrand, Rémy; Guarneri, Italo; Wimberger, Sandro

2012-03-01

Kicked atoms under a constant Stark or gravity field are investigated for experimental setups with cold and ultracold atoms. The parametric stability of the quantum dynamics is studied using the fidelity. In the case of a quantum resonance, it is shown that the behavior of the fidelity depends on arithmetic properties of the gravity parameter. Close to a quantum resonance, the long-time asymptotics of the fidelity is studied by means of a pseudoclassical approximation introduced by Fishman et al. [J. Stat. Phys. 110, 911 (2003)]. The long-time decay of fidelity arises from the tunneling out of pseudoclassical stable islands, and a simple ansatz is proposed which satisfactorily reproduces the main features observed in numerical simulations.

Itinerant ferromagnetism in an atomic Fermi gas: Influence of population imbalance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conduit, G. J.; Simons, B. D.

2009-01-01

We investigate ferromagnetic ordering in an itinerant ultracold atomic Fermi gas with repulsive interactions and population imbalance. In a spatially uniform system, we show that at zero temperature the transition to the itinerant magnetic phase transforms from first to second order with increasing population imbalance. Drawing on these results, we elucidate the phases present in a trapped geometry, finding three characteristic types of behavior with changing population imbalance. Finally, we outline the potential experimental implications of the findings.

Production and manipulation of wave packets from ultracold atoms in an optical lattice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Poul Lindholm; Gajdacz, Miroslav; Winter, Nils

2013-01-01

of the system. The modulation technique also allows for a controllable transfer (deexcitation) of atoms from such wave packets to a state bound by the lattice. Thus, it acts as a beam splitter for matter waves that can selectively address different bands, enabling the preparation of atoms in localized states...

Realistic Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling for neutral atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campbell, D. L.; Spielman, I. B.; Juzeliunas, G.

2011-01-01

We describe a new class of atom-laser coupling schemes which lead to spin-orbit-coupled Hamiltonians for ultracold neutral atoms. By properly setting the optical phases, a pair of degenerate pseudospin (a linear combination of internal atomic) states emerge as the lowest-energy eigenstates in the spectrum and are thus immune to collisionally induced decay. These schemes use N cyclically coupled ground or metastable internal states. We focus on two situations: a three-level case and a four-level case, where the latter adds a controllable Dresselhaus contribution. We describe an implementation of the four-level scheme for 87 Rb and analyze its sensitivity to typical laboratory noise sources. Last, we argue that the Rashba Hamiltonian applies only in the large intensity limit since any laser coupling scheme will produce terms nonlinear in momentum that decline with intensity.

Inhomogeneous spectral moment sum rules for the retarded Green function and self-energy of strongly correlated electrons or ultracold fermionic atoms in optical lattices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freericks, J. K.; Turkowski, V.

2009-01-01

Spectral moment sum rules are presented for the inhomogeneous many-body problem described by the fermionic Falicov-Kimball or Hubbard models. These local sum rules allow for arbitrary hoppings, site energies, and interactions. They can be employed to quantify the accuracy of numerical solutions to the inhomogeneous many-body problem such as strongly correlated multilayered devices, ultracold atoms in an optical lattice with a trap potential, strongly correlated systems that are disordered, or systems with nontrivial spatial ordering such as a charge-density wave or a spin-density wave. We also show how the spectral moment sum rules determine the asymptotic behavior of the Green function, self-energy, and dynamical mean field when applied to the dynamical mean-field theory solution of the many-body problem. In particular, we illustrate in detail how one can dramatically reduce the number of Matsubara frequencies needed to solve the Falicov-Kimball model while still retaining high precision, and we sketch how one can incorporate these results into Hirsch-Fye quantum Monte Carlo solvers for the Hubbard (or more complicated) models. Since the solution of inhomogeneous problems is significantly more time consuming than periodic systems, efficient use of these sum rules can provide a dramatic speed up in the computational time required to solve the many-body problem. We also discuss how these sum rules behave in nonequilibrium situations as well, where the Hamiltonian has explicit time dependence due to a driving field or due to the time-dependent change in a parameter such as the interaction strength or the origin of the trap potential.

Taming light with cold atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vestergaard Hau, Lene

2002-01-01

Much of the extraordinary progress of developments in communication (e-mail, and/or internet) has been achieved due to improvements in optical communication. This paper describes a new approach which could improve the speed of communication. The ability to stop light in its tracks by passing it through a cloud of ultracold atoms could lead to new techniques for optical storage. The described slow-light experiments have triggered new physics both on the experimental and theoretical fronts. The cold atom system allows the steepest possible refractive index profiles, and therefore the most dramatic effects, as Doppler effects are eliminated. Furthermore, cold atoms provide maximum flexibility in the choice of beam geometry. This is important for the storage and retrieval of multiple pulses of optical information in an atomic medium, as it would allow individual pulses to be selectively addressed. Slow and stopped light have many potential applications in optical communication and processing, including optical information storage, ultra-sensitive optical switches, and optical delay lines. It could also be used in quantum-information processing, in which quantum-mechanical information is used for computing and communication purposes. On a very different front, slow light provides us with a totally new way of probing the unusual properties of Bose-Einstein condensates

Building one molecule from a reservoir of two atoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, L R; Hood, J D; Yu, Y; Zhang, J T; Hutzler, N R; Rosenband, T; Ni, K-K

2018-05-25

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. Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Universal Borromean Binding in Spin-Orbit-Coupled Ultracold Fermi Gases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoling Cui

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Borromean rings and Borromean binding, a class of intriguing phenomena as three objects are linked (bound together while any two of them are unlinked (unbound, widely exist in nature and have been found in systems of biology, chemistry, and physics. Previous studies have suggested that the occurrence of such a binding in physical systems typically relies on the microscopic details of pairwise interaction potentials at short range and is, therefore, nonuniversal. Here, we report a new type of Borromean binding in ultracold Fermi gases with Rashba spin-orbit coupling, which is universal against short-range interaction details, with its binding energy only dependent on the s-wave scattering length and the spin-orbit-coupling strength. We show that the occurrence of this universal Borromean binding is facilitated by the symmetry of the single-particle dispersion under spin-orbit coupling and is, therefore, symmetry selective rather than interaction selective. The state is robust over a wide range of mass ratios between composing fermions, which are accessible by Li-Li, K-K, and K-Li mixtures in cold-atom experiments. Our results reveal the importance of single- particle spectral symmetry in few-body physics and shed light on the emergence of new quantum phases in a many-body system with exotic few-body correlations.

A high resolution ion microscope for cold atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stecker, Markus; Schefzyk, Hannah; Fortágh, József; Günther, Andreas

2017-01-01

We report on an ion-optical system that serves as a microscope for ultracold ground state and Rydberg atoms. The system is designed to achieve a magnification of up to 1000 and a spatial resolution in the 100 nm range, thereby surpassing many standard imaging techniques for cold atoms. The microscope consists of four electrostatic lenses and a microchannel plate in conjunction with a delay line detector in order to achieve single particle sensitivity with high temporal and spatial resolution. We describe the design process of the microscope including ion-optical simulations of the imaging system and characterize aberrations and the resolution limit. Furthermore, we present the experimental realization of the microscope in a cold atom setup and investigate its performance by patterned ionization with a structure size down to 2.7 μ m. The microscope meets the requirements for studying various many-body effects, ranging from correlations in cold quantum gases up to Rydberg molecule formation. (paper)

Transfer coefficients in ultracold strongly coupled plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Bobrov, A. A.; Vorob'ev, V. S.; Zelener, B. V.

2018-03-01

We use both analytical and molecular dynamic methods for electron transfer coefficients in an ultracold plasma when its temperature is small and the coupling parameter characterizing the interaction of electrons and ions exceeds unity. For these conditions, we use the approach of nearest neighbor to determine the average electron (ion) diffusion coefficient and to calculate other electron transfer coefficients (viscosity and electrical and thermal conductivities). Molecular dynamics simulations produce electronic and ionic diffusion coefficients, confirming the reliability of these results. The results compare favorably with experimental and numerical data from earlier studies.

Research using ultracold neutrons at the ILL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steyerl, A.

1990-01-01

In this talk I will make no effort to give an exhaustive, detailed description of the well-published results of recent work with ultracold neutrons (UCN) at the ILL. Instead, there will be a biased selection of some topics in which author happens to be most interested, though in some cases as a spectator from a considerable distance than as an actor. The selection includes the recent lifetime experiment using a Fomblin-coated bottle, the continuing search for an electric dipole moment of the neutron and some ideas on high precision neutron optics experiments

An ultracold neutron storage bottle for UCN density measurements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bison, G.; Burri, F.; Daum, M. [Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), CH-5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland); Kirch, K. [Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), CH-5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland); Institute for Particle Physics, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH), Zürich (Switzerland); Krempel, J. [Institute for Particle Physics, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH), Zürich (Switzerland); Lauss, B., E-mail: bernhard.lauss@psi.ch [Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), CH-5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland); Meier, M. [Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), CH-5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland); Ries, D., E-mail: dieter.ries@psi.ch [Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), CH-5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland); Institute for Particle Physics, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH), Zürich (Switzerland); Schmidt-Wellenburg, P.; Zsigmond, G. [Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), CH-5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland)

2016-09-11

We have developed a storage bottle for ultracold neutrons (UCNs) in order to measure the UCN density at the beamports of the Paul Scherrer Institute's (PSI) UCN source. This paper describes the design, construction and commissioning of the robust and mobile storage bottle with a volume comparable to typical storage experiments (32 L) e.g. searching for an electric dipole moment of the neutron.

Spin-orbit coupling in ultracold Fermi gases of 173Yb atoms

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Bo; He, Chengdong; Hajiyev, Elnur; Ren, Zejian; Seo, Bojeong; Cai, Geyue; Amanov, Dovran; Zhang, Shanchao; Jo, Gyu-Boong

2017-04-01

Synthetic spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in cold atoms opens an intriguing new way to probe nontrivial topological orders beyond natural conditions. Here, we report the realization of the SOC physics both in a bulk system and in an optical lattice. First, we demonstrate two hallmarks induced from SOC in a bulk system, spin dephasing in the Rabi oscillation and asymmetric atomic distribution in the momentum space respectively. Then we describe the observation of non-trivial spin textures and the determination of the topological phase transition in a spin-dependent optical lattice dressed by the periodic Raman field. Furthermore, we discuss the quench dynamics between topological and trivial states by suddenly changing the band topology. Our work paves a new way to study non-equilibrium topological states in a controlled manner. Funded by Croucher Foundation and Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong (Project ECS26300014, GRF16300215, GRF16311516, and Croucher Innovation Grants).

Fibre illumination system

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2012-01-01

Source: EP2426402A The invention relates to a fibre illumination module and system for the collection and delivery of daylight for illumination purposes. The fibre illumination module comprises a plurality of collector elements, each collector element comprising an input fibre having a first end......-directional arrangement. The fibre illumination system comprises a fibre illumination module of the above-mentioned type. By the invention, daylight may be exploited for the illumination of remote interior spaces of buildings in order to save energy, and improve the well-being of users in both housing and working...

Ultra-cold WIMPs relics of non-standard pre-BBN cosmologies

CERN Document Server

Gelmini, Graciela B

2008-01-01

We point out that in scenarios in which the Universe evolves in a non-standard manner during and after the kinetic decoupling of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), these relics can be much colder than in standard cosmological scenarios (i.e. can be ultra-cold), possibly leading to the formation of smaller first objects in hierarchical structure formation scenarios.

Depolarization of ultracold neutrons during their storage in material bottles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serebrov, A.P.; Lasakov, M.S.; Vassiljev, A.V.; Krasnoschekova, I.A.; Rudnev, Yu.P.; Fomin, A.K.; Varlamov, V.E.; Geltenbort, P.; Butterworth, J.; Young, A.R.; Pesavento, U.

2003-01-01

The depolarization of ultracold neutrons (UCN) during their storage in traps has been investigated. The neutron spin-flip probability for the materials studied amounts to ∼(1-2)x10 -5 per collision and does not depend on the temperature. The possible connection between the phenomenon of UCN depolarization and that of anomalous losses is discussed

Depolarization of ultracold neutrons during their storage in material bottles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Serebrov, A.P.; Lasakov, M.S.; Vassiljev, A.V.; Krasnoschekova, I.A.; Rudnev, Yu.P.; Fomin, A.K.; Varlamov, V.E.; Geltenbort, P.; Butterworth, J.; Young, A.R.; Pesavento, U

2003-07-14

The depolarization of ultracold neutrons (UCN) during their storage in traps has been investigated. The neutron spin-flip probability for the materials studied amounts to {approx}(1-2)x10{sup -5} per collision and does not depend on the temperature. The possible connection between the phenomenon of UCN depolarization and that of anomalous losses is discussed.

Spatially distributed multipartite entanglement enables EPR steering of atomic clouds

Science.gov (United States)

Kunkel, Philipp; Prüfer, Maximilian; Strobel, Helmut; Linnemann, Daniel; Frölian, Anika; Gasenzer, Thomas; Gärttner, Martin; Oberthaler, Markus K.

2018-04-01

A key resource for distributed quantum-enhanced protocols is entanglement between spatially separated modes. However, the robust generation and detection of entanglement between spatially separated regions of an ultracold atomic system remain a challenge. We used spin mixing in a tightly confined Bose-Einstein condensate to generate an entangled state of indistinguishable particles in a single spatial mode. We show experimentally that this entanglement can be spatially distributed by self-similar expansion of the atomic cloud. We used spatially resolved spin read-out to reveal a particularly strong form of quantum correlations known as Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering between distinct parts of the expanded cloud. Based on the strength of EPR steering, we constructed a witness, which confirmed genuine 5-partite entanglement.

Ionization Spectroscopic Measurement of nP Rydberg Levels of 87Rb Cold Atoms

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yufan; Zaheeruddin, Syed; Zhao, Dongmei; Ma, Xinwen; Yang, Jie

2018-05-01

We created an ultracold plasma via the spontaneous ionization of cold dense Rydberg atoms of 87Rb in a magneto-optical trap (MOT), and measured the nS1/2 (n = 50-80), nP1/2 (n = 16-23), nP3/2 (n = 16-98), and nD5/2 (n = 49-96) Rydberg levels by detecting the electrons in the ultracold plasma. By fitting the energy levels of Rydberg states, the first ionization potential of 33690.950(11) cm-1 and the quantum defects of S, P, and D orbitals were obtained. The absolute transition energies of nS1/2 (n = 66-80), nP1/2 (n = 16-23), nP3/2 (n = 16-98), and nD5/2 (n = 58-96) states of 87Rb, as well as the quantum defects for p1/2 and p3/2 series, are given for the first time.

Matter-wave interferometry in a double well on an atom chip

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schumm, Thorsten; Hofferberth, S.; Andersson, L. M.

2005-01-01

Matter-wave interference experiments enable us to study matter at its most basic, quantum level and form the basis of high-precision sensors for applications such as inertial and gravitational field sensing. Success in both of these pursuits requires the development of atom-optical elements...... that can manipulate matter waves at the same time as preserving their coherence and phase. Here, we present an integrated interferometer based on a simple, coherent matter-wave beam splitter constructed on an atom chip. Through the use of radio-frequency-induced adiabatic double-well potentials, we...... demonstrate the splitting of Bose-Einstein condensates into two clouds separated by distances ranging from 3 to 80 μm, enabling access to both tunnelling and isolated regimes. Moreover, by analysing the interference patterns formed by combining two clouds of ultracold atoms originating from a single...

Ghost imaging with atoms

Science.gov (United States)

Khakimov, R. I.; Henson, B. M.; Shin, D. K.; Hodgman, S. S.; Dall, R. G.; Baldwin, K. G. H.; Truscott, A. G.

2016-12-01

Ghost imaging is a counter-intuitive phenomenon—first realized in quantum optics—that enables the image of a two-dimensional object (mask) to be reconstructed using the spatio-temporal properties of a beam of particles with which it never interacts. Typically, two beams of correlated photons are used: one passes through the mask to a single-pixel (bucket) detector while the spatial profile of the other is measured by a high-resolution (multi-pixel) detector. The second beam never interacts with the mask. Neither detector can reconstruct the mask independently, but temporal cross-correlation between the two beams can be used to recover a ‘ghost’ image. Here we report the realization of ghost imaging using massive particles instead of photons. In our experiment, the two beams are formed by correlated pairs of ultracold, metastable helium atoms, which originate from s-wave scattering of two colliding Bose-Einstein condensates. We use higher-order Kapitza-Dirac scattering to generate a large number of correlated atom pairs, enabling the creation of a clear ghost image with submillimetre resolution. Future extensions of our technique could lead to the realization of ghost interference, and enable tests of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen entanglement and Bell’s inequalities with atoms.

The BCS-BEC crossover: From ultra-cold Fermi gases to nuclear systems

Science.gov (United States)

Strinati, Giancarlo Calvanese; Pieri, Pierbiagio; Röpke, Gerd; Schuck, Peter; Urban, Michael

2018-04-01

This report addresses topics and questions of common interest in the fields of ultra-cold gases and nuclear physics in the context of the BCS-BEC crossover. By this crossover, the phenomena of Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) superfluidity and Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC), which share the same kind of spontaneous symmetry breaking, are smoothly connected through the progressive reduction of the size of the fermion pairs involved as the fundamental entities in both phenomena. This size ranges, from large values when Cooper pairs are strongly overlapping in the BCS limit of a weak inter-particle attraction, to small values when composite bosons are non-overlapping in the BEC limit of a strong inter-particle attraction, across the intermediate unitarity limit where the size of the pairs is comparable with the average inter-particle distance. The BCS-BEC crossover has recently been realized experimentally, and essentially in all of its aspects, with ultra-cold Fermi gases. This realization, in turn, has raised the interest of the nuclear physics community in the crossover problem, since it represents an unprecedented tool to test fundamental and unanswered questions of nuclear many-body theory. Here, we focus on the several aspects of the BCS-BEC crossover, which are of broad joint interest to both ultra-cold Fermi gases and nuclear matter, and which will likely help to solve in the future some open problems in nuclear physics (concerning, for instance, neutron stars). Similarities and differences occurring in ultra-cold Fermi gases and nuclear matter will then be emphasized, not only about the relative phenomenologies but also about the theoretical approaches to be used in the two contexts. Common to both contexts is the fact that at zero temperature the BCS-BEC crossover can be described at the mean-field level with reasonable accuracy. At finite temperature, on the other hand, inclusion of pairing fluctuations beyond mean field represents an essential ingredient

Nonlinear dynamics of ultracold gases in double-well lattices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yukalov, V I; Yukalova, E P

2009-01-01

An ultracold gas is considered, loaded into a lattice, each site of which is formed by a double-well potential. Initial conditions, after the loading, correspond to a nonequilibrium state. The nonlinear dynamics of the system, starting with a nonequilibrium state, is analysed in the local-field approximation. The importance of taking into account attenuation, caused by particle collisions, is emphasized. The presence of this attenuation dramatically influences the system dynamics

Quantum dynamics of atoms in a resonator-generated optical lattice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maschler, C.; Ritsch, H.

2005-01-01

Full text: We investigate the quantum motion of coherently driven ultracold atoms in the field of a damped high-Q optical cavity mode. The laser field is chosen far detuned from the atomic transition but close to a cavity resonance, so that spontaneous emission is strongly suppressed but a coherent field builds up in the resonator by stimulated scattering. On one hand the shape of the atomic wave function determines the field dynamics via the magnitude of the scattering and the effective refractive index the atoms create for the mode. The mode intensity on the other hand determines the optical dipole force on the atoms.The system shows rich atom-field dynamics including self organization, self-trapping, cooling or heating. In the limit of deep trapping we are able to derive a system of closed, coupled equations for a finite set of atomic expectation values and the field. This allows us to determine the self-consistent ground state of the system as well as the eigenfrequencies and damping rates for excitations. To treat several atoms in more detail we introduce the Bose-Hubbard model. This allows us to investigate several aspects of the quantum motion of the atoms inside the cavity. (author)

Test of the fast thin-film ferromagnetic shutters for ultracold neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pokotilovskij, Yu.N.; Novopol'tsev, M.I.; Geltenbort, P.

2008-01-01

Test of thin-film ferromagnetic shutters of two types for ultracold neutrons has been performed. The first type is based on neutron reflection from the sequence of successively placed thin ferromagnetic layers with oppositely directed magnetization. The second one is based on neutron refraction in ferromagnetic foils inserted in the beam

Probing Efimov discrete scaling in an atom-molecule collision

Science.gov (United States)

Shalchi, M. A.; Yamashita, M. T.; Hadizadeh, M. R.; Garrido, E.; Tomio, Lauro; Frederico, T.

2018-01-01

The discrete Efimov scaling behavior, well known in the low-energy spectrum of three-body bound systems for large scattering lengths (unitary limit), is identified in the energy dependence of an atom-molecule elastic cross section in mass-imbalanced systems. That happens in the collision of a heavy atom with mass mH with a weakly bound dimer formed by the heavy atom and a lighter one with mass mL≪mH . Approaching the heavy-light unitary limit, the s -wave elastic cross section σ will present a sequence of zeros or minima at collision energies following closely the Efimov geometrical law. Our results, obtained with Faddeev calculations and supplemented by a Born-Oppenheimer analysis, open a perspective to detecting the discrete scaling behavior from low-energy scattering data, which is timely in view of the ongoing experiments with ultracold binary mixtures having strong mass asymmetries, such as lithium and cesium or lithium and ytterbium.

Diamond-like carbon coated ultracold neutron guides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heule, S.; Atchison, F.; Daum, M.; Foelske, A.; Henneck, R.; Kasprzak, M.; Kirch, K.; Knecht, A.; Kuzniak, M.; Lippert, T.; Meier, M.; Pichlmaier, A.; Straumann, U.

2007-01-01

It has been shown recently that diamond-like carbon (DLC) with a sp 3 fraction above 60% is a better wall coating material for ultracold neutron applications than beryllium. We report on results of Raman spectroscopic and XPS measurements obtained for diamond-like carbon coated neutron guides produced in a new facility, which is based on pulsed laser deposition at 193 nm. For diamond-like carbon coatings on small stainless steel substrates we find sp 3 fractions in the range from 60 to 70% and showing slightly increasing values with laser pulse energy and pulse repetition rate

An endoscopic detector for ultracold neutrons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goeltl, L.; Fertl, M.; Kirch, K. [Paul Scherrer Institute, Laboratory for Particle Physics, Villigen-PSI (Switzerland); Institute for Particle Physics, Zuerich (Switzerland); Chowdhuri, Z.; Henneck, R.; Lauss, B.; Mtchedlishvili, A.; Schmidt-Wellenburg, P.; Zsigmond, G. [Paul Scherrer Institute, Laboratory for Particle Physics, Villigen-PSI (Switzerland); Gray, F. [Regis University, Denver, CO (United States); Lefort, T. [Universite de Caen, CNRS/IN2P3, Laboratoire de Physique Corpusculaire, Caen (France)

2013-01-15

A new versatile detector for ultracold neutrons (UCN) has been built and operated which combines multi-pixel photon counters and GS10 lithium-doped scintillators. Such detectors can be very small and can be used to monitor UCN inside storage vessels or guides with negligible influence (of order 10{sup -6}) on the UCN intensity itself. We have shown that such detectors can be used in a very harsh radiation environment of up to 200Gy/h via the addition of a 4m long quartz light guide in order to place the radiation-sensitive photon counters outside the hot zone. Additionally we have measured the UCN storage times in situ in this harsh environment. (orig.)

Possible Many-Body Localization in a Long-Lived Finite-Temperature Ultracold Quasineutral Molecular Plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Sous, John; Grant, Edward

2018-03-01

We argue that the quenched ultracold plasma presents an experimental platform for studying the quantum many-body physics of disordered systems in the long-time and finite energy-density limits. We consider an experiment that quenches a plasma of nitric oxide to an ultracold system of Rydberg molecules, ions, and electrons that exhibits a long-lived state of arrested relaxation. The qualitative features of this state fail to conform with classical models. Here, we develop a microscopic quantum description for the arrested phase based on an effective many-body spin Hamiltonian that includes both dipole-dipole and van der Waals interactions. This effective model appears to offer a way to envision the essential quantum disordered nonequilibrium physics of this system.

Recent developments in trapping and manipulation of atoms with adiabatic potentials

Science.gov (United States)

Garraway, Barry M.; Perrin, Hélène

2016-09-01

A combination of static and oscillating magnetic fields can be used to ‘dress’ atoms with radio-frequency (RF), or microwave, radiation. The spatial variation of these fields can be used to create an enormous variety of traps for ultra-cold atoms and quantum gases. This article reviews the type and character of these adiabatic traps and the applications which include atom interferometry and the study of low-dimensional quantum systems. We introduce the main concepts of magnetic traps leading to adiabatic dressed traps. The concept of adiabaticity is discussed in the context of the Landau-Zener model. The first bubble trap experiment is reviewed together with the method used for loading it. Experiments based on atom chips show the production of double wells and ring traps. Dressed atom traps can be evaporatively cooled with an additional RF field, and a weak RF field can be used to probe the spectroscopy of the adiabatic potentials. Several approaches to ring traps formed from adiabatic potentials are discussed, including those based on atom chips, time-averaged adiabatic potentials and induction methods. Several proposals for adiabatic lattices with dressed atoms are also reviewed.

Trapping and Evolution Dynamics of Ultracold Two-Component Plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, J.-H.; Knuffman, B.; Zhang, X. H.; Povilus, A. P.; Raithel, G.

2008-01-01

We demonstrate the trapping of a strongly magnetized, quasineutral ultracold plasma in a nested Penning trap with a background field of 2.9 T. Electrons remain trapped in this system for several milliseconds. Early in the evolution, the dynamics are driven by a breathing-mode oscillation in the ionic charge distribution, which modulates the electron trap depth. Over longer times scales, the electronic component undergoes cooling. Trap loss resulting from ExB drift is characterized

DMD-based LED-illumination super-resolution and optical sectioning microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Dan, Dan; Lei, Ming; Yao, Baoli; Wang, Wen; Winterhalder, Martin; Zumbusch, Andreas; Qi, Yujiao; Xia, Liang; Yan, Shaohui; Yang, Yanlong; Gao, Peng; Ye, Tong; Zhao, Wei

2013-01-01

Super-resolution three-dimensional (3D) optical microscopy has incomparable advantages over other high-resolution microscopic technologies, such as electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, in the study of biological molecules, pathways and events in live cells and tissues. We present a novel approach of structured illumination microscopy (SIM) by using a digital micromirror device (DMD) for fringe projection and a low-coherence LED light for illumination. The lateral resolution of 90 nm and the optical sectioning depth of 120 μm were achieved. The maximum acquisition speed for 3D imaging in the optical sectioning mode was 1.6×10(7) pixels/second, which was mainly limited by the sensitivity and speed of the CCD camera. In contrast to other SIM techniques, the DMD-based LED-illumination SIM is cost-effective, ease of multi-wavelength switchable and speckle-noise-free. The 2D super-resolution and 3D optical sectioning modalities can be easily switched and applied to either fluorescent or non-fluorescent specimens.

Transport, atom blockade, and output coupling in a Tonks-Girardeau gas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rutherford, L.; McCann, J. F.; Goold, J.; Busch, Th.

2011-01-01

Recent experiments have demonstrated how quantum-mechanical impurities can be created within strongly correlated quantum gases and used to probe the coherence properties of these systems [S. Palzer, C. Zipkes, C. Sias, and M. Koehl, Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 150601 (2009).]. Here we present a phenomenological model to simulate such an output coupler for a Tonks-Girardeau gas that shows qualitative agreement with the experimental results for atom transport and output coupling. Our model allows us to explore nonequilibrium transport phenomena in ultracold quantum gases and leads us to predict a regime of atom blockade, where the impurity component becomes localized in the parent cloud despite the presence of gravity. We show that this provides a stable mixed-species quantum gas in the strongly correlated limit.

Surface color perception under two illuminants: the second illuminant reduces color constancy

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Joong Nam; Shevell, Steven K.

2003-01-01

This study investigates color perception in a scene with two different illuminants. The two illuminants, in opposite corners, simultaneously shine on a (simulated) scene with an opaque dividing wall, which controls how much of the scene is illuminated by each source. In the first experiment, the height of the dividing wall was varied. This changed the amount of each illuminant reaching objects on the opposite side of the wall. Results showed that the degree of color constancy decreased when a region on one side of the wall had cues to both illuminants, suggesting that cues from the second illuminant are detrimental to color constancy. In a later experiment, color constancy was found to improve when the specular highlight cues from the second illuminant were altered to be consistent with the first illuminant. This corroborates the influence of specular highlights in surface color perception, and suggests that the reduced color constancy in the first experiment is due to the inconsistent, though physically correct, cues from the two illuminants.

Metal-Insulator Transition Revisited for Cold Atoms in Non-Abelian Gauge Potentials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Satija, Indubala I.; Dakin, Daniel C.; Clark, Charles W.

2006-01-01

We discuss the possibility of realizing metal-insulator transitions with ultracold atoms in two-dimensional optical lattices in the presence of artificial gauge potentials. For Abelian gauges, such transitions occur when the magnetic flux penetrating the lattice plaquette is an irrational multiple of the magnetic flux quantum. Here we present the first study of these transitions for non-Abelian U(2) gauge fields. In contrast to the Abelian case, the spectrum and localization transition in the non-Abelian case is strongly influenced by atomic momenta. In addition to determining the localization boundary, the momentum fragments the spectrum. Other key characteristics of the non-Abelian case include the absence of localization for certain states and satellite fringes around the Bragg peaks in the momentum distribution and an interesting possibility that the transition can be tuned by the atomic momenta

Localization of atomic excitation beyond the diffraction limit using electromagnetically induced transparency

Science.gov (United States)

Miles, J. A.; Das, Diptaranjan; Simmons, Z. J.; Yavuz, D. D.

2015-09-01

We experimentally demonstrate the localization of excitation between hyperfine ground states of 87Rb atoms to as small as λ /13 -wide spatial regions. We use ultracold atoms trapped in a dipole trap and utilize electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) for the atomic excitation. The localization is achieved by combining a spatially varying coupling laser (standing wave) with the intensity dependence of EIT. The excitation is fast (150 ns laser pulses) and the dark-state fidelity can be made higher than 94% throughout the standing wave. Because the width of the localized regions is much smaller than the wavelength of the driving light, traditional optical imaging techniques cannot resolve the localized features. Therefore, to measure the excitation profile, we use an autocorrelation-like method where we perform two EIT sequences separated by a time delay, during which we move the standing wave.

Probe Knots and Hopf Insulators with Ultracold Atoms

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Dong-Ling; Wang, Sheng-Tao; Sun, Kai; Duan, L.-M.

2018-01-01

Knots and links are fascinating and intricate topological objects. Their influence spans from DNA and molecular chemistry to vortices in superfluid helium, defects in liquid crystals and cosmic strings in the early universe. Here we find that knotted structures also exist in a peculiar class of three-dimensional topological insulators—the Hopf insulators. In particular, we demonstrate that the momentum-space spin textures of Hopf insulators are twisted in a nontrivial way, which implies the presence of various knot and link structures. We further illustrate that the knots and nontrivial spin textures can be probed via standard time-of-flight images in cold atoms as preimage contours of spin orientations in stereographic coordinates. The extracted Hopf invariants, knots, and links are validated to be robust to typical experimental imperfections. Our work establishes the existence of knotted structures in Hopf insulators, which may have potential applications in spintronics and quantum information processing. D.L.D., S.T.W. and L.M.D. are supported by the ARL, the IARPA LogiQ program, and the AFOSR MURI program, and supported by Tsinghua University for their visits. K.S. acknowledges the support from NSF under Grant No. PHY1402971. D.L.D. is also supported by JQI-NSF-PFC and LPS-MPO-CMTC at the final stage of this paper.

Photoionization and cold collision studies using trapped atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gould, P.L.

1996-01-01

The authors have used laser cooling and trapping techniques to investigate photoionization and cold collisions. With laser-trapped Rb, they have measured the photoionization cross section from the first excited (5P) level by observing the photoionization-induced loss rate of neutral atoms from the trap. This technique has the advantage that it directly measures the photoionization rate per atom. Knowing the ionizing laser intensity and the excited-state fraction, the measured loss rate gives the absolute cross section. Using this technique, the Rb 5P photoionization cross section at ∼400 nm has been determined with an uncertainty of 9%. The authors are currently attempting to extend this method to the 5D level. Using time-ordered pulses of diode-laser light (similar to the STIRAP technique), they have performed very efficient two-photon excitation of trapped Rb atoms to 5D. Finally, they will present results from a recent collaboration which combines measurements form conventional molecular spectroscopy (single photon and double resonance) with photoassociation collisions of ultracold Na atoms to yield a precise (≤1 ppm) value for the dissociation energy of the X Σ g+ ground state of the Na 2 molecule

Progress towards magnetic trapping of ultra-cold neutrons

CERN Document Server

Huffman, P R; Butterworth, J S; Coakley, K J; Dewey, M S; Dzhosyuk, S N; Gilliam, D M; Golub, R; Greene, G L; Habicht, K; Lamoreaux, S K; Mattoni, C E H; McKinsey, D N; Wietfeldt, F E; Doyle, J M

2000-01-01

We report progress towards magnetic trapping of ultra-cold neutrons (UCN) in preparation for a neutron lifetime measurement. UCN will be produced by inelastic scattering of cold (0.89 nm) neutrons in a reservoir of superfluid sup 4 He and confined in a three-dimensional magnetic trap. As the trapped neutrons decay, recoil electrons will generate scintillations in the liquid He, which should be detectable with nearly 100% efficiency. This direct measure of the number of UCN decays vs. time can be used to determine the neutron beta-decay lifetime.

Parity non-conservation in atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barkov, L.M.

1982-01-01

The parity non-conservation discovered in particle physics in 1959 has consequences on the behaviour of atoms illuminated by light of circular polarization. The theoretical treatments of this topic and recent experimental test of detecting the effects of parity non-conservation on atomic physics are listed, reviewed and illustrated. The main experimental results and limits are summarized. Proposed future experiments are discussed. (D.Gy.)

Manipulating Neutral Atoms in Chip-Based Magnetic Traps

Science.gov (United States)

Aveline, David; Thompson, Robert; Lundblad, Nathan; Maleki, Lute; Yu, Nan; Kohel, James

2009-01-01

Several techniques for manipulating neutral atoms (more precisely, ultracold clouds of neutral atoms) in chip-based magnetic traps and atomic waveguides have been demonstrated. Such traps and waveguides are promising components of future quantum sensors that would offer sensitivities much greater than those of conventional sensors. Potential applications include gyroscopy and basic research in physical phenomena that involve gravitational and/or electromagnetic fields. The developed techniques make it possible to control atoms with greater versatility and dexterity than were previously possible and, hence, can be expected to contribute to the value of chip-based magnetic traps and atomic waveguides. The basic principle of these techniques is to control gradient magnetic fields with suitable timing so as to alter a trap to exert position-, velocity-, and/or time-dependent forces on atoms in the trap to obtain desired effects. The trap magnetic fields are generated by controlled electric currents flowing in both macroscopic off-chip electromagnet coils and microscopic wires on the surface of the chip. The methods are best explained in terms of examples. Rather than simply allowing atoms to expand freely into an atomic waveguide, one can give them a controllable push by switching on an externally generated or a chip-based gradient magnetic field. This push can increase the speed of the atoms, typically from about 5 to about 20 cm/s. Applying a non-linear magnetic-field gradient exerts different forces on atoms in different positions a phenomenon that one can exploit by introducing a delay between releasing atoms into the waveguide and turning on the magnetic field.

From rotating atomic rings to quantum Hall states.

Science.gov (United States)

Roncaglia, M; Rizzi, M; Dalibard, J

2011-01-01

Considerable efforts are currently devoted to the preparation of ultracold neutral atoms in the strongly correlated quantum Hall regime. However, the necessary angular momentum is very large and in experiments with rotating traps this means spinning frequencies extremely near to the deconfinement limit; consequently, the required control on parameters turns out to be too stringent. Here we propose instead to follow a dynamic path starting from the gas initially confined in a rotating ring. The large moment of inertia of the ring-shaped fluid facilitates the access to large angular momenta, corresponding to giant vortex states. The trapping potential is then adiabatically transformed into a harmonic confinement, which brings the interacting atomic gas in the desired quantum-Hall regime. We provide numerical evidence that for a broad range of initial angular frequencies, the giant-vortex state is adiabatically connected to the bosonic ν = 1/2 Laughlin state.

A new method for building an atomic matter-wave interferometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao Hongyi; Chen Jianwen; Xie Honglan; Chen Min; Xu Zhizhan; Xiao Tiqiao; Zhu Peiping

2002-01-01

A new method for building an atomic matter-wave interferometry is proposed. A Fresnel zone-plate is used for restricting the linewidth of atomic beams, then a quasi-monochromatic atomic beam is obtained to illuminate four slits on a copper foil. The phenomenon of atomic interference and holograph can be observed, which is used to measure the coherent length of atomic beams

Spectroscopy with cold and ultra-cold neutrons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abele Hartmut

2015-01-01

Full Text Available We present two new types of spectroscopy methods for cold and ultra-cold neutrons. The first method, which uses the R×B drift effect to disperse charged particles in a uniformly curved magnetic field, allows to study neutron β-decay. We aim for a precision on the 10−4 level. The second method that we refer to as gravity resonance spectroscopy (GRS allows to test Newton’s gravity law at short distances. At the level of precision we are able to provide constraints on any possible gravity-like interaction. In particular, limits on dark energy chameleon fields are improved by several orders of magnitude.

The King model for electrons in a finite-size ultracold plasma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vrinceanu, D; Collins, L A [Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); Balaraman, G S [School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332 (United States)

2008-10-24

A self-consistent model for a finite-size non-neutral ultracold plasma is obtained by extending a conventional model of globular star clusters. This model describes the dynamics of electrons at quasi-equilibrium trapped within the potential created by a cloud of stationary ions. A random sample of electron positions and velocities can be generated with the statistical properties defined by this model.

Atom-dimer scattering in a heteronuclear mixture with a finite intraspecies scattering length

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Chao; Zhang, Peng

2018-04-01

We study the three-body problem of two ultracold identical bosonic atoms (denoted by B ) and one extra atom (denoted by X ), where the scattering length aB X between each bosonic atom and atom X is resonantly large and positive. We calculate the scattering length aad between one bosonic atom and the shallow dimer formed by the other bosonic atom and atom X , and investigate the effect induced by the interaction between the two bosonic atoms. We find that even if this interaction is weak (i.e., the corresponding scattering length aB B is of the same order of the van der Waals length rvdW or even smaller), it can still induce a significant effect for the atom-dimer scattering length aad. Explicitly, an atom-dimer scattering resonance can always occur when the value of aB B varies in the region with | aB B|≲ rvdW . As a result, both the sign and the absolute value of aad, as well as the behavior of the aad-aB X function, depends sensitively on the exact value of aB B. Our results show that, for a good quantitative theory, the intraspecies interaction is required to be taken into account for this heteronuclear system, even if this interaction is weak.

An ultra-cold neutron source at the MLNSC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bowles, T.J.; Brun, T.; Hill, R.; Morris, C.; Seestrom, S.J.; Crow, L.; Serebrov, A.

1998-01-01

This is the final report of a three-year, Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The authors have carried out the research and development of an Ultra-Cold Neutron (UCN) source at the Manuel Lujan Neutron Scattering Center (MLNSC). A first generation source was constructed to test the feasibility of a rotor source. The source performed well with an UCN production rate reasonably consistent with that expected. This source can now provide the basis for further development work directed at using UCN in fundamental physics research as well as possible applications in materials science

An ultra-cold neutron source at the MLNSC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bowles, T.J.; Brun, T.; Hill, R.; Morris, C.; Seestrom, S.J. [Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States); Crow, L. [Univ. of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI (United States); Serebrov, A. [Petersburg Nuclear Physics Inst. (Russian Federation)

1998-11-01

This is the final report of a three-year, Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The authors have carried out the research and development of an Ultra-Cold Neutron (UCN) source at the Manuel Lujan Neutron Scattering Center (MLNSC). A first generation source was constructed to test the feasibility of a rotor source. The source performed well with an UCN production rate reasonably consistent with that expected. This source can now provide the basis for further development work directed at using UCN in fundamental physics research as well as possible applications in materials science.

Quantum levitation of nanoparticles seen with ultracold neutrons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nesvizhevsky, V. V., E-mail: nesvizhevsky@ill.eu [Institut Laue-Langevin (France); Voronin, A. Yu. [Lebedev Institute (Russian Federation); Lambrecht, A.; Reynaud, S. [Laboratoire Kastler-Brossel, CNRS, ENS, UPMC (France); Lychagin, E. V.; Muzychka, A. Yu.; Strelkov, A. V. [Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (Russian Federation)

2013-09-15

Analyzing new experiments with ultracold neutrons (UCNs) we show that physical adsorption of nanoparticles/nanodroplets, levitating in high-excited states in a deep and broad potential well formed by van der Waals/Casimir-Polder (vdW/CP) forces results in new effects on a cross-road of the fields of fundamental interactions, neutron, surface and nanoparticle physics. Accounting for the interaction of UCNs with nanoparticles explains a recently discovered intriguing so-called 'small heating' of UCNs in traps. It might be relevant to the striking conflict of the neutron lifetime experiments with smallest reported uncertainties by adding false effects there.

Quantum levitation of nanoparticles seen with ultracold neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nesvizhevsky, V. V.; Voronin, A. Yu.; Lambrecht, A.; Reynaud, S.; Lychagin, E. V.; Muzychka, A. Yu.; Strelkov, A. V.

2013-01-01

Analyzing new experiments with ultracold neutrons (UCNs) we show that physical adsorption of nanoparticles/nanodroplets, levitating in high-excited states in a deep and broad potential well formed by van der Waals/Casimir-Polder (vdW/CP) forces results in new effects on a cross-road of the fields of fundamental interactions, neutron, surface and nanoparticle physics. Accounting for the interaction of UCNs with nanoparticles explains a recently discovered intriguing so-called “small heating” of UCNs in traps. It might be relevant to the striking conflict of the neutron lifetime experiments with smallest reported uncertainties by adding false effects there

How can we probe the atom mass currents induced by synthetic gauge fields?

Science.gov (United States)

Paramekanti, Arun; Killi, Matthew; Trotzky, Stefan

2013-05-01

Ultracold atomic fermions and bosons in an optical lattice can have quantum ground states which support equilibrium currents in the presence of synthetic magnetic fields or spin orbit coupling. As a tool to uncover these mass currents, we propose using an anisotropic quantum quench of the optical lattice which dynamically converts the current patterns into measurable density patterns. Using analytical calculations and numerical simulations, we show that this scheme can probe diverse equilibrium bulk current patterns in Bose superfluids and Fermi fluids induced by synthetic magnetic fields, as well as detect the chiral edge currents in topological states of atomic matter such as quantum Hall and quantum spin Hall insulators. This work is supported by NSERC of Canada and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.

Dicke superradiance as nondestructive probe for the state of atoms in optical lattices

Science.gov (United States)

ten Brinke, Nicolai; Schützhold, Ralf

2016-04-01

We present a proposal for a probing scheme utilizing Dicke superradiance to obtain information about ultracold atoms in optical lattices. A probe photon is absorbed collectively by an ensemble of lattice atoms generating a Dicke state. The lattice dynamics (e.g., tunneling) affects the coherence properties of that Dicke state and thus alters the superradiant emission characteristics - which in turn provides insight into the lattice (dynamics). Comparing the Bose-Hubbard and the Fermi-Hubbard model, we find similar superradiance in the strongly interacting Mott insulator regime, but crucial differences in the weakly interacting (superfluid or metallic) phase. Furthermore, we study the possibility to detect whether a quantum phase transition between the two regimes can be considered adiabatic or a quantum quench.

Mode-coupling of interaction quenched ultracold bosons in periodically driven lattices

Science.gov (United States)

Mistakidis, Simeon; Schmelcher, Peter

2016-05-01

The out-of-equilibrium dynamics of interaction quenched finite ultracold bosonic ensembles in periodically driven one-dimensional optical lattices is investigated. As a first attempt a brief analysis of the dynamics caused exclusively by the periodically driven lattice is presented and the induced low-lying modes are introduced. It is shown that the periodic driving enforces the bosons in the outer wells to exhibit out-of-phase dipole-like modes, while in the central well the cloud experiences a local-breathing mode. The dynamical behavior of the system is investigated with respect to the driving frequency, revealing a resonant-like behavior of the intra-well dynamics. Subsequently, we drive the system to a highly non-equilibrium state by performing an interaction quench upon the periodically driven lattice. This protocol gives rise to admixtures of excitations in the outer wells, an enhanced breathing in the center and an amplification of the tunneling dynamics. As a result (of the quench) the system experiences multiple resonances between the inter- and intra-well dynamics at different quench amplitudes. Finally, our study reveals that the position of the resonances can be adjusted e.g. via the driving frequency or the atom number manifesting their many-body nature. Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) in the framework of the SFB 925 ``Light induced dynamics and control of correlated quantum systems''.

Gravity sensing using Very Long Baseline Atom Interferometry

Science.gov (United States)

Schlippert, D.; Wodey, E.; Meiners, C.; Tell, D.; Schubert, C.; Ertmer, W.; Rasel, E. M.

2017-12-01

Very Long Baseline Atom Interferometry (VLBAI) has applications in high-accuracy absolute gravimetry, gravity-gradiometry, and for tests of fundamental physics. Thanks to the quadratic scaling of the phase shift with increasing free evolution time, extending the baseline of atomic gravimeters from tens of centimeters to meters puts resolutions of 10-13g and beyond in reach.We present the design and progress of key elements of the VLBAI-test stand: a dual-species source of Rb and Yb, a high-performance two-layer magnetic shield, and an active vibration isolation system allowing for unprecedented stability of the mirror acting as an inertial reference. We envisage a vibration-limited short-term sensitivity to gravitational acceleration of 1x10-8 m/s-2Hz-1/2 and up to a factor of 25 improvement when including additional correlation with a broadband seismometer. Here, the supreme long-term stability of atomic gravity sensors opens the route towards competition with superconducting gravimeters. The operation of VLBAI as a differential dual-species gravimeter using ultracold mixtures of Yb and Rb atoms enables quantum tests of the universality of free fall (UFF) at an unprecedented level of <10-13, potentially surpassing the best experiments to date.

Theoretical model for ultracold molecule formation via adaptive feedback control

OpenAIRE

Poschinger, Ulrich; Salzmann, Wenzel; Wester, Roland; Weidemueller, Matthias; Koch, Christiane P.; Kosloff, Ronnie

2006-01-01

We investigate pump-dump photoassociation of ultracold molecules with amplitude- and phase-modulated femtosecond laser pulses. For this purpose a perturbative model for the light-matter interaction is developed and combined with a genetic algorithm for adaptive feedback control of the laser pulse shapes. The model is applied to the formation of 85Rb2 molecules in a magneto-optical trap. We find for optimized pulse shapes an improvement for the formation of ground state molecules by more than ...

Accurate calculations of the ground state and low-lying excited states of the (RbBa)⁺ molecular ion: a proposed system for ultracold reactive collisions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knecht, Stefan; Sørensen, Lasse Kragh; Jensen, Hans Jørgen Aagaard

2010-01-01

Collisions of ultracold Ba+ ions on a Rb Bose–Einstein condensate have been suggested as a possible benchmark system for ultracold ion-neutral collision experiments. However, a priori knowledge of the possible processes is desirable. For this purpose, we here present high-level four-component cou...

Scattering Length Scaling Laws for Ultracold Three-Body Collisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D'Incao, J.P.; Esry, B.D.

2005-01-01

We present a simple and unifying picture that provides the energy and scattering length dependence for all inelastic three-body collision rates in the ultracold regime for three-body systems with short-range two-body interactions. Here, we present the scaling laws for vibrational relaxation, three-body recombination, and collision-induced dissociation for systems that support s-wave two-body collisions. These systems include three identical bosons, two identical bosons, and two identical fermions. Our approach reproduces all previous results, predicts several others, and gives the general form of the scaling laws in all cases

Precision spectroscopy with ultracold {sup 87}Rb{sub 2} triplet molecules

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Strauss, Christoph

2011-10-19

In this thesis I report precision spectroscopy with ultracold {sup 87}Rb{sub 2} triplet molecules where we use lasers to couple the states in different molecular potentials. We study in detail states of the a {sup 3} sum {sup +}{sub u} and (1) {sup 3} sum {sup +}{sub g} potentials. These states are of great importance for transferring weakly bound molecules to the ro-vibrational triplet ground state via states of the excited potential. As most experiments start from molecules in their X {sup 1} sum {sup +}{sub g} ground state, the triplet states were hard to access via dipole transitions and remained largely unexplored. The measurements presented in this thesis are the first detailed study of diatomic {sup 87}Rb{sub 2} molecules in these states. Our experiments start with an ultracold cloud of {sup 87}Rb atoms. We then load this cloud into an optical lattice where we use a magnetic Feshbach resonance at 1007.4 G to perform a Feshbach association. After we have removed all unbound atoms, we end up with a pure sample of weakly bound Feshbach molecules inside the optical lattice. The optical lattice prevents these molecules from colliding with each other which results in molecular lifetimes on the order of a few hundred milliseconds. In the first set of experiments, we use a laser coupling the Feshbach state to the excited (1) {sup 3} sum {sup +}{sub g} triplet state to map out its low-lying vibrational (v = 0.. 15), rotational, hyperfine, and Zeeman structure. The experimental results are in good agreement with calculations done by Marius Lysebo and Prof. Leif Veseth. We then map out in detail the vibrational, rotational, hyperfine, and Zeeman structure of the a {sup 3} sum {sup +}{sub u} triplet ground state using dark state spectroscopy with levels in the (1) {sup 3} sum {sup +}{sub g} potential as an intermediate state. In this scheme we are able to access molecules in triplet states because our Feshbach state has strong triplet character. Interestingly, it

Precision spectroscopy with ultracold {sup 87}Rb{sub 2} triplet molecules

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Strauss, Christoph

2011-10-19

In this thesis I report precision spectroscopy with ultracold {sup 87}Rb{sub 2} triplet molecules where we use lasers to couple the states in different molecular potentials. We study in detail states of the a {sup 3} sum {sup +}{sub u} and (1) {sup 3} sum {sup +}{sub g} potentials. These states are of great importance for transferring weakly bound molecules to the ro-vibrational triplet ground state via states of the excited potential. As most experiments start from molecules in their X {sup 1} sum {sup +}{sub g} ground state, the triplet states were hard to access via dipole transitions and remained largely unexplored. The measurements presented in this thesis are the first detailed study of diatomic {sup 87}Rb{sub 2} molecules in these states. Our experiments start with an ultracold cloud of {sup 87}Rb atoms. We then load this cloud into an optical lattice where we use a magnetic Feshbach resonance at 1007.4 G to perform a Feshbach association. After we have removed all unbound atoms, we end up with a pure sample of weakly bound Feshbach molecules inside the optical lattice. The optical lattice prevents these molecules from colliding with each other which results in molecular lifetimes on the order of a few hundred milliseconds. In the first set of experiments, we use a laser coupling the Feshbach state to the excited (1) {sup 3} sum {sup +}{sub g} triplet state to map out its low-lying vibrational (v = 0.. 15), rotational, hyperfine, and Zeeman structure. The experimental results are in good agreement with calculations done by Marius Lysebo and Prof. Leif Veseth. We then map out in detail the vibrational, rotational, hyperfine, and Zeeman structure of the a {sup 3} sum {sup +}{sub u} triplet ground state using dark state spectroscopy with levels in the (1) {sup 3} sum {sup +}{sub g} potential as an intermediate state. In this scheme we are able to access molecules in triplet states because our Feshbach state has strong triplet character. Interestingly, it

Physics of quantum fluids new trends and hot topics in atomic and polariton condensates

CERN Document Server

Modugno, Michele

2013-01-01

The study of quantum fluids, stimulated by the discovery of superfluidity in liquid helium, has experienced renewed interest after the observation of Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) in ultra-cold atomic gases and the observation a new type of quantum fluid with specific characteristics derived from its intrinsic out-of-equilibrium nature. The main objective of this book is to take a snapshot of the state-of-the-art of this fast moving field with a special emphasis on the hot topics and new trends. Bringing together the most active specialists of the two areas (atomic and polaritonic quantum fluids), we expect that this book will facilitate the exchange and the collaboration between these two communities working on subjects with very strong analogies.

Looking for spectral changes occurring during storage of ultra-cold neutrons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steyerl, A; Malik, S S [Rhode Island Univ., Kingston, RI (United States); Geltenbort, P [Institut Max von Laue - Paul Langevin (ILL), 38 -Grenoble (France)

1997-04-01

It seems that the spectrum of ultra-cold neutrons does change. The measured data indicate with 5{sigma} reliability, that a small heating by about 2{center_dot}10{sup -10} eV ({approx} 2 mm of rise height against the earth`s gravity) occurred during the initial {approx} 10{sup 3} wall reflections, and no change thereafter. The reason of this effect is searched for. (author). 3 refs.

Synthetic Unruh effect in cold atoms

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez-Laguna, Javier; Tarruell, Leticia; Lewenstein, Maciej; Celi, Alessio

2017-01-01

We propose to simulate a Dirac field near an event horizon using ultracold atoms in an optical lattice. Such a quantum simulator allows for the observation of the celebrated Unruh effect. Our proposal involves three stages: (1) preparation of the ground state of a massless two-dimensional Dirac field in Minkowski space-time; (2) quench of the optical lattice setup to simulate how an accelerated observer would view that state; (3) measurement of the local quantum fluctuation spectra by one-particle excitation spectroscopy in order to simulate a De Witt detector. According to Unruh's prediction, fluctuations measured in such a way must be thermal. Moreover, following Takagi's inversion theorem, they will obey the Bose-Einstein distribution, which will smoothly transform into the Fermi-Dirac as one of the dimensions of the lattice is reduced.

Lighting system with illuminance control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2013-01-01

The present invention relates to an illumination control system comprising a plurality of outdoor luminaries and a motorized service vehicle. Each luminaire comprises a controllable light source producing a light illuminance. The motorized service vehicle comprises a light sensor configured...... to detect the light illuminance generated by the controllable light source at the motorized service vehicle. The motorized service vehicle computes light illuminance data based on the detected light illuminance and transmits these to the outdoor luminaire through a wireless communication link or stores...... the light illuminance data on a data recording device of the motorized service vehicle. The outdoor luminaire receives may use the light illuminance data to set or adjust a light illuminance of the controllable light source....

Entangling two transportable neutral atoms via local spin exchange.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaufman, A M; Lester, B J; Foss-Feig, M; Wall, M L; Rey, A M; Regal, C A

2015-11-12

To advance quantum information science, physical systems are sought that meet the stringent requirements for creating and preserving quantum entanglement. In atomic physics, robust two-qubit entanglement is typically achieved by strong, long-range interactions in the form of either Coulomb interactions between ions or dipolar interactions between Rydberg atoms. Although such interactions allow fast quantum gates, the interacting atoms must overcome the associated coupling to the environment and cross-talk among qubits. Local interactions, such as those requiring substantial wavefunction overlap, can alleviate these detrimental effects; however, such interactions present a new challenge: to distribute entanglement, qubits must be transported, merged for interaction, and then isolated for storage and subsequent operations. Here we show how, using a mobile optical tweezer, it is possible to prepare and locally entangle two ultracold neutral atoms, and then separate them while preserving their entanglement. Ground-state neutral atom experiments have measured dynamics consistent with spin entanglement, and have detected entanglement with macroscopic observables; we are now able to demonstrate position-resolved two-particle coherence via application of a local gradient and parity measurements. This new entanglement-verification protocol could be applied to arbitrary spin-entangled states of spatially separated atoms. The local entangling operation is achieved via spin-exchange interactions, and quantum tunnelling is used to combine and separate atoms. These techniques provide a framework for dynamically entangling remote qubits via local operations within a large-scale quantum register.

Effect of illumination on photoluminescence properties of porous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naddaf, M.; Hamadeh, H.

2008-11-01

Porous silicon (PS) layers were formed by photo-electrochemical etching of both p-type and n-type single crystal wafers in HF based solution. During the etching process, the silicon wafer was illuminated by a halogen lamp light guided by an optical fiber through a monochromator or diode lasers at different power density and wavelengths (480,533,580 and 635 nm). The optical and structural properties of the prepared PS samples have been investigated by using temperature dependent photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, contact angle (CA) measurements, optical microscope and atomic force microscope (AFM). Beside the strong red-yellow PL band, a blue PL band has been observed only in the PS samples formed under the illumination with low power and short wavelengths (480-580 nm) light. In the near infrared (IR) spectral range, a new PL band at 850 nm was observed in p-type PS samples, which prepared under darkness or illumination with 635 nm of low power light. Temperature dependent PL measurements showed that, in contrast to the main IR PL band at around 1100 nm, the intensity of this new band increases on increasing the temperature. These changes in the PL properties was correlated with the illumination induced-structural and morphological modifications in the PS skeleton. In particular, the FTIR analysis showed that the chemical groups and bonds constituting the PS skeleton, such as, SiH, SiO bonds and silanol SiOH group play key role in deciding the PL emission intensity and blue shift. The study proved that the illumination parameters during the photo-electrochemical etching process can be utilized for tailoring a porous layer with novel optical and structural properties. (Authors)

Effect of illumination on photoluminescence properties of porous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naddaf, M.; Hamadeh, H.

2009-01-01

Porous silicon (PS) layers were formed by photo-electrochemical etching of both p-type and n-type single crystal wafers in HF based solution. During the etching process, the silicon wafer was illuminated by a halogen lamp light guided by an optical fiber through a monochromator or diode lasers at different power density and wavelengths (480,533,580 and 635 nm). The optical and structural properties of the prepared PS samples have been investigated by using temperature dependent photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, contact angle (CA) measurements, optical microscope and atomic force microscope (AFM). Beside the strong red-yellow PL band, a blue PL band has been observed only in the PS samples formed under the illumination with low power and short wavelengths (480-580 nm) light. In the near infrared (IR) spectral range, a new PL band at 850 nm was observed in p-type PS samples, which prepared under darkness or illumination with 635 nm of low power light. Temperature dependent PL measurements showed that, in contrast to the main IR PL band at around 1100 nm, the intensity of this new band increases on increasing the temperature. These changes in the PL properties was correlated with the illumination induced-structural and morphological modifications in the PS skeleton. In particular, the FTIR analysis showed that the chemical groups and bonds constituting the PS skeleton, such as, SiH, SiO bonds and silanol SiOH group play key role in deciding the PL emission intensity and blue shift. The study proved that the illumination parameters during the photo-electrochemical etching process can be utilized for tailoring a porous layer with novel optical and structural properties. (Authors)

Focus on strongly correlated quantum fluids: from ultracold quantum gases to QCD plasmas Focus on strongly correlated quantum fluids: from ultracold quantum gases to QCD plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, Allan; Carr, Lincoln D.; Schaefer, Thomas; Steinberg, Peter; Thomas, John E.

2013-04-01

interdisciplinary appeal and include new studies of high temperature superfluidity, viscosity, spin-transport, spin-imbalanced mixtures, and three-component gases, this last having a close parallel to color superconductivity. Another system important for the field of strongly-interacting quantum fluids was revealed by analysis of data from the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Despite naive expectations based on asymptotic freedom that the deconfinement of quarks and gluons at high temperatures would lead to a weakly-interacting quark gluon plasma (QGP), the system appeared to be quite strongly coupled. Subsequent estimates of the viscosity-to-entropy ratio suggest that the system is tantalizingly close to the postulated bound from AdS/CFT calculations. The field is quite dynamic at the moment; new measurements are expected from upgraded detectors at RHIC, and an entirely new energy regime is being opened up by heavy ion collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. On the theoretical side, much work remains to be done to extract the precise values of the transport coefficients, and to characterize the nature of quasi-particle excitations in the plasma. Finally, holographic dualities such as anti-de Sitter/conformal field theory (AdS/CFT) have opened a new theoretical window on strongly correlated fluids. Holography relates strongly-interacting quantum many-body systems to weakly-coupled semi-classical gravitational systems, replacing quasiparticles with geometry and translating various difficult questions about quantum fluids into simple and calculable geometric exercises. Already, some of the earliest lessons of holography, such as the conjectural bound on the viscosity-to-entropy ratio, have had a considerable impact on the theoretical and experimental study of strongly correlated fluids, from RHIC to ultracold atoms. More recently, the study of holographic superconductors, non-Fermi liquids and unitary quantum gases has touched

Measurement of the time of storage of ultracold neutrons in a magnetic trap

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abov, Y.G.; Borovlev, S.P.; Vasil'ev, V.V.; Vladimirskii, V.V.; Mospan, E.N.

1983-01-01

The storage time of ultracold neutrons in an axial magnetic trap with a simple singly connected confinement region is measured. It is shown that the storage of the neutrons is due just to the magnetic field. The storage time achieved is tau = 303 +- 37 sec. In a working cycle 3.6 neutrons are accumulated

Pulse length of ultracold electron bunches extracted from a laser cooled gas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. G. H. Franssen

2017-07-01

Full Text Available We present measurements of the pulse length of ultracold electron bunches generated by near-threshold two-photon photoionization of a laser-cooled gas. The pulse length has been measured using a resonant 3 GHz deflecting cavity in TM110 mode. We have measured the pulse length in three ionization regimes. The first is direct two-photon photoionization using only a 480 nm femtosecond laser pulse, which results in short (∼15 ps but hot (∼104 K electron bunches. The second regime is just-above-threshold femtosecond photoionization employing the combination of a continuous-wave 780 nm excitation laser and a tunable 480 nm femtosecond ionization laser which results in both ultracold (∼10 K and ultrafast (∼25 ps electron bunches. These pulses typically contain ∼103 electrons and have a root-mean-square normalized transverse beam emittance of 1.5 ± 0.1 nm rad. The measured pulse lengths are limited by the energy spread associated with the longitudinal size of the ionization volume, as expected. The third regime is just-below-threshold ionization which produces Rydberg states which slowly ionize on microsecond time scales.

Photodissociation of quantum state-selected diatomic molecules yields new insight into ultracold chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, Mickey; McGuyer, Bart H.; Lee, Chih-Hsi; Apfelbeck, Florian; Zelevinsky, Tanya

2016-05-01

When a molecule is subjected to a sufficiently energetic photon it can break apart into fragments through a process called ``photodissociation''. For over 70 years this simple chemical reaction has served as a vital experimental tool for acquiring information about molecular structure, since the character of the photodissociative transition can be inferred by measuring the 3D photofragment angular distribution (PAD). While theoretical understanding of this process has gradually evolved from classical considerations to a fully quantum approach, experiments to date have not yet revealed the full quantum nature of this process. In my talk I will describe recent experiments involving the photodissociation of ultracold, optical lattice-trapped, and fully quantum state-resolved 88Sr2 molecules. Optical absorption images of the PADs produced in these experiments reveal features which are inherently quantum mechanical in nature, such as matter-wave interference between output channels, and are sensitive to the quantum statistics of the molecular wavefunctions. The results of these experiments cannot be predicted using quasiclassical methods. Instead, we describe our results with a fully quantum mechanical model yielding new intuition about ultracold chemistry.

Ultracold Mixtures of Rubidium and Ytterbium for Open Quantum System Engineering

Science.gov (United States)

2014-06-01

species can be vanishing. 2.4.1 Miscibility Even at ultracold temperatures , our trapped gasses are very dilute. On the high side of achievable densities...essentially ideal. Therefore, any combination of isotopes will mix at high enough temperatures . Close to degeneracy, miscibility depends on the strength of...bakeout temperature is 200 ◦C, while the braze alloy melts at 305 ◦C. Custom dielectric AR coatings were designed and applied by Spectrum Thin Films

Scalable quantum information processing with photons and atoms

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Jian-Wei

Over the past three decades, the promises of super-fast quantum computing and secure quantum cryptography have spurred a world-wide interest in quantum information, generating fascinating quantum technologies for coherent manipulation of individual quantum systems. However, the distance of fiber-based quantum communications is limited due to intrinsic fiber loss and decreasing of entanglement quality. Moreover, probabilistic single-photon source and entanglement source demand exponentially increased overheads for scalable quantum information processing. To overcome these problems, we are taking two paths in parallel: quantum repeaters and through satellite. We used the decoy-state QKD protocol to close the loophole of imperfect photon source, and used the measurement-device-independent QKD protocol to close the loophole of imperfect photon detectors--two main loopholes in quantum cryptograph. Based on these techniques, we are now building world's biggest quantum secure communication backbone, from Beijing to Shanghai, with a distance exceeding 2000 km. Meanwhile, we are developing practically useful quantum repeaters that combine entanglement swapping, entanglement purification, and quantum memory for the ultra-long distance quantum communication. The second line is satellite-based global quantum communication, taking advantage of the negligible photon loss and decoherence in the atmosphere. We realized teleportation and entanglement distribution over 100 km, and later on a rapidly moving platform. We are also making efforts toward the generation of multiphoton entanglement and its use in teleportation of multiple properties of a single quantum particle, topological error correction, quantum algorithms for solving systems of linear equations and machine learning. Finally, I will talk about our recent experiments on quantum simulations on ultracold atoms. On the one hand, by applying an optical Raman lattice technique, we realized a two-dimensional spin-obit (SO

Development of the Science Data System for the International Space Station Cold Atom Lab

Science.gov (United States)

van Harmelen, Chris; Soriano, Melissa A.

2015-01-01

Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL) is a facility that will enable scientists to study ultra-cold quantum gases in a microgravity environment on the International Space Station (ISS) beginning in 2016. The primary science data for each experiment consists of two images taken in quick succession. The first image is of the trapped cold atoms and the second image is of the background. The two images are subtracted to obtain optical density. These raw Level 0 atom and background images are processed into the Level 1 optical density data product, and then into the Level 2 data products: atom number, Magneto-Optical Trap (MOT) lifetime, magnetic chip-trap atom lifetime, and condensate fraction. These products can also be used as diagnostics of the instrument health. With experiments being conducted for 8 hours every day, the amount of data being generated poses many technical challenges, such as downlinking and managing the required data volume. A parallel processing design is described, implemented, and benchmarked. In addition to optimizing the data pipeline, accuracy and speed in producing the Level 1 and 2 data products is key. Algorithms for feature recognition are explored, facilitating image cropping and accurate atom number calculations.

Understanding Molecular-Ion Neutral Atom Collisions for the Production of Ultracold Molecular Ions

Science.gov (United States)

2014-02-03

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: This project was superseded and replaced by another ARO-funded project of the same name, which is still continuing. The goal...cooled atoms," IOTA -COST Workshop on molecular ions, Arosa, Switzerland. 5. E.R. Hudson, "Sympathetic cooling of molecules with laser cooled

Interfacing ultracold atoms and cryogenic micromechanical oscillator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bick, Andreas

2015-02-06

fiber. This previously unknown effect was identified as crucial in asymmetric fiber-based cavities and is studied in this thesis using an analytical model, which is verified using numerical calculations and experimental data. The curved structures necessary for a stable cavity mode in the MiM system are processed onto the fiber tips using CO{sub 2} laser pulses. The light is absorbed, resulting in the evaporation of material. Afterwards, the fiber is analyzed using a Linnik interference microscope to determine the radius of curvature of the processed feature. With this knowledge, an asymmetric fiber-based MiM system at room temperature was set up and in first measurements the mechanical quality factor and the optomechanical coupling strength were studied. Furthermore, a setup to create BECs was planned and realized. Here, in first measurements, Bose-Einstein condensation was observed. The system is based on a 2D/3D MOT design in combination with a Hybrid-Dee magnetic trap. Using radio-frequency evaporation, BECs with N ∼ 8 x 10{sup 4} atoms can be produced at a cycle time of 30 s.

Repulsive atomic gas in a harmonic trap on the border of itinerant ferromagnetism.

Science.gov (United States)

Conduit, G J; Simons, B D

2009-11-13

Alongside superfluidity, itinerant (Stoner) ferromagnetism remains one of the most well-characterized phases of correlated Fermi systems. A recent experiment has reported the first evidence for novel phase behavior on the repulsive side of the Feshbach resonance in a two-component ultracold Fermi gas. By adapting recent theoretical studies to the atomic trap geometry, we show that an adiabatic ferromagnetic transition would take place at a weaker interaction strength than is observed in experiment. This discrepancy motivates a simple nonequilibrium theory that takes account of the dynamics of magnetic defects and three-body losses. The formalism developed displays good quantitative agreement with experiment.

On the tunneling time of ultracold atoms through a system of two mazer cavities.

Science.gov (United States)

Badshah, Fazal; Ge, Guo-Qin; Irfan, Muhammad; Qamar, Sajid; Qamar, Shahid

2018-01-30

We study the resonant tunneling of ultraslow atoms through a system of high quality microwave cavities. We find that the phase tunneling time across the two coupled cavities exhibits more frequent resonances as compared to the single cavity interaction. The increased resonances are instrumental in the display of an alternate sub and superclassical character of the tunneling time along the momentum axis with increasing energies of the incident slow atoms. Here, the intercavity separation appears as an additional controlling parameter of the system that provides an efficient control of the superclassical behavior of the phase tunneling time. Further, we find that the phase time characteristics through two cavity system has the combined features of the tunneling through a double barrier and a double well arrangements.

Atomic scale resolution with correlation holography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Csonka, P.L.

1979-01-01

For many atoms (including atoms of interest in biology) the elastic and inelastic photon scattering cross sections (denoted respectively by sigma/sub el/ and sigma/sub inel/) for photons in the wavelength region of interest, satisfy sigma/sub el/ << sigma/sub inel/. Therefore, the probability is high that when illuminated with photons, such an atom will decay before a holographic picture of it can be taken. On the other hand, if certain nonlinear phenomena: correlations between photons are taken into account, a hologram of such atoms can nevertheless be generated. Observation of small objects is compatible with the principles of quantum mechanics, even if the probability of disturbing the object as a result of observation is arbitrarily small

Long-distance entanglement in many-body atomic and optical systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Giampaolo, Salvatore M; Illuminati, Fabrizio [Dipartimento di Matematica e Informatica, Universita degli Studi di Salerno, Via Ponte don Melillo, I-84084 Fisciano, SA (Italy)], E-mail: illuminati@sa.infn.it

2010-02-15

We discuss the phenomenon of long-distance entanglement (LDE) in the ground state of quantum spin models, its use in high-fidelity and robust quantum communication, and its realization in many-body systems of ultracold atoms in optical lattices and in arrays of coupled optical cavities. We investigate XX quantum spin models on one-dimensional lattices with open ends and different patterns of site-dependent interaction couplings, singling out two general settings: patterns that allow for perfect LDE in the ground state of the system, namely such that the end-to-end entanglement remains finite in the thermodynamic limit, and patterns of quasi-long-distance entanglement (QLDE) in the ground state of the system, namely such that the end-to-end entanglement vanishes with a very slow power-law decay as the length of the spin chain is increased. We discuss physical realizations of these models in ensembles of ultracold bosonic atoms loaded in optical lattices. We show how, using either suitably engineered super-lattice structures or exploiting the presence of edge impurities in lattices with single periodicity, it is possible to realize models endowed with nonvanishing LDE or QLDE. We then study how to realize models that optimize the robustness of QLDE at finite temperature and in the presence of imperfections using suitably engineered arrays of coupled optical cavities. For both cases the numerical estimates of the end-to-end entanglement in the actual physical systems are thoroughly compared with the analytical results obtained for the spin model systems. We finally introduce LDE-based schemes of long-distance quantum teleportation in linear arrays of coupled cavities, and show that they allow for high-fidelity and high success rates even at moderately high temperatures.

Long-distance entanglement in many-body atomic and optical systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giampaolo, Salvatore M; Illuminati, Fabrizio

2010-01-01

We discuss the phenomenon of long-distance entanglement (LDE) in the ground state of quantum spin models, its use in high-fidelity and robust quantum communication, and its realization in many-body systems of ultracold atoms in optical lattices and in arrays of coupled optical cavities. We investigate XX quantum spin models on one-dimensional lattices with open ends and different patterns of site-dependent interaction couplings, singling out two general settings: patterns that allow for perfect LDE in the ground state of the system, namely such that the end-to-end entanglement remains finite in the thermodynamic limit, and patterns of quasi-long-distance entanglement (QLDE) in the ground state of the system, namely such that the end-to-end entanglement vanishes with a very slow power-law decay as the length of the spin chain is increased. We discuss physical realizations of these models in ensembles of ultracold bosonic atoms loaded in optical lattices. We show how, using either suitably engineered super-lattice structures or exploiting the presence of edge impurities in lattices with single periodicity, it is possible to realize models endowed with nonvanishing LDE or QLDE. We then study how to realize models that optimize the robustness of QLDE at finite temperature and in the presence of imperfections using suitably engineered arrays of coupled optical cavities. For both cases the numerical estimates of the end-to-end entanglement in the actual physical systems are thoroughly compared with the analytical results obtained for the spin model systems. We finally introduce LDE-based schemes of long-distance quantum teleportation in linear arrays of coupled cavities, and show that they allow for high-fidelity and high success rates even at moderately high temperatures.

Suppression of Rabi oscillations for moving atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Navarro, B.; Egusquiza, I. L.; Muga, J. G.; Hegerfeldt, G. C.

2003-01-01

The well-known laser-induced Rabi oscillations of a two-level atom are shown to be suppressed under certain conditions when the atom is entering a laser-illuminated region. For temporal Rabi oscillations the effect has two regimes: a first classical-like one, taking place at intermediate atomic velocities, and a second purely quantum case at low velocities. The classical regime is associated with the formation of incoherent internal states of the atom in the laser region, whereas in the quantum, low velocity regime the laser projects the atom onto a pure internal state that can be controlled by detuning. Spatial Rabi oscillations are only suppressed in this low velocity, quantum regime

Diamondlike carbon can replace beryllium in physics with ultracold neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atchison, F.; Blau, B.; Daum, M.; Fierlinger, P.; Foelske, A.; Geltenbort, P.; Gupta, M.; Henneck, R.; Heule, S.; Kasprzak, M.; Kuzniak, M.; Kirch, K.; Meier, M.; Pichlmaier, A.; Plonka, Ch.; Reiser, R.; Theiler, B.; Zimmer, O.; Zsigmond, G.

2006-01-01

To complete our study of ultracold neutron (UCN) storage-vessel coatings, we have measured the Fermi potential for neutrons on diamondlike carbon coatings produced by laser induced vacuum arc deposition. A sample with an sp 3 content of 0.45, measured using, for the first time, neutron transmission had a Fermi potential of (249+/-14)neV. A second sample with an sp 3 fraction of 0.67, measured using cold neutron reflectometry, gave (271+/-13)neV. These values complete the demonstration that there is a viable alternative to Be in UCN physics

Physics of quantum fluids. New trends and hot topics in atomic and polariton condensates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bramati, Alberto [Paris Univ. (France). Laboratoire Kastler Brossel; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 75 - Paris (France); Modugno, Michele (eds.) [IKERBASQUE, Bilbao (Spain); Univ. del Pais Vasco, Bilbao (Spain). Dept. de Fisica Teorica e Historia de la Ciencia

2013-10-01

Provides an overview of the field of quantum fluids. Presents analogies and differences between polariton and atomic quantum fluids. With contributions from the major actors in the field. Explains a new type of quantum fluid with specific characteristics. The study of quantum fluids, stimulated by the discovery of superfluidity in liquid helium, has experienced renewed interest after the observation of Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) in ultra-cold atomic gases and the observation a new type of quantum fluid with specific characteristics derived from its intrinsic out-of-equilibrium nature. The main objective of this book is to take a snapshot of the state-of-the-art of this fast moving field with a special emphasis on the hot topics and new trends. Bringing together the most active specialists of the two areas (atomic and polaritonic quantum fluids), we expect that this book will facilitate the exchange and the collaboration between these two communities working on subjects with very strong analogies.

Analysis of the Alkali Metal Diatomic Spectra; Using molecular beams and ultracold molecules

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jin-Tae

2014-12-01

This ebook illustrates the complementarity of molecular beam (MB) spectra and ultracold molecule (UM) spectra in unraveling the complex electronic spectra of diatomic alkali metal molecules, using KRb as a prime example. Researchers interested in molecular spectroscopy, whether physicist, chemist, or engineer, may find this ebook helpful and may be able to apply similar ideas to their molecules of interest.

Split-illumination electron holography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tanigaki, Toshiaki; Aizawa, Shinji; Suzuki, Takahiro; Park, Hyun Soon [Advanced Science Institute, RIKEN, Hirosawa 2-1, Wako, Saitama 351-0198 (Japan); Inada, Yoshikatsu [Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University, Katahira 2-1-1, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan); Matsuda, Tsuyoshi [Japan Science and Technology Agency, Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012 (Japan); Taniyama, Akira [Corporate Research and Development Laboratories, Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd., Amagasaki, Hyogo 660-0891 (Japan); Shindo, Daisuke [Advanced Science Institute, RIKEN, Hirosawa 2-1, Wako, Saitama 351-0198 (Japan); Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University, Katahira 2-1-1, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan); Tonomura, Akira [Advanced Science Institute, RIKEN, Hirosawa 2-1, Wako, Saitama 351-0198 (Japan); Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Graduate University, Onna-son, Okinawa 904-0495 (Japan); Central Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd., Hatoyama, Saitama 350-0395 (Japan)

2012-07-23

We developed a split-illumination electron holography that uses an electron biprism in the illuminating system and two biprisms (applicable to one biprism) in the imaging system, enabling holographic interference micrographs of regions far from the sample edge to be obtained. Using a condenser biprism, we split an electron wave into two coherent electron waves: one wave is to illuminate an observation area far from the sample edge in the sample plane and the other wave to pass through a vacuum space outside the sample. The split-illumination holography has the potential to greatly expand the breadth of applications of electron holography.

Split-illumination electron holography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanigaki, Toshiaki; Aizawa, Shinji; Suzuki, Takahiro; Park, Hyun Soon; Inada, Yoshikatsu; Matsuda, Tsuyoshi; Taniyama, Akira; Shindo, Daisuke; Tonomura, Akira

2012-01-01

We developed a split-illumination electron holography that uses an electron biprism in the illuminating system and two biprisms (applicable to one biprism) in the imaging system, enabling holographic interference micrographs of regions far from the sample edge to be obtained. Using a condenser biprism, we split an electron wave into two coherent electron waves: one wave is to illuminate an observation area far from the sample edge in the sample plane and the other wave to pass through a vacuum space outside the sample. The split-illumination holography has the potential to greatly expand the breadth of applications of electron holography.

Chromatic illumination discrimination ability reveals that human colour constancy is optimised for blue daylight illuminations.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bradley Pearce

Full Text Available The phenomenon of colour constancy in human visual perception keeps surface colours constant, despite changes in their reflected light due to changing illumination. Although colour constancy has evolved under a constrained subset of illuminations, it is unknown whether its underlying mechanisms, thought to involve multiple components from retina to cortex, are optimised for particular environmental variations. Here we demonstrate a new method for investigating colour constancy using illumination matching in real scenes which, unlike previous methods using surface matching and simulated scenes, allows testing of multiple, real illuminations. We use real scenes consisting of solid familiar or unfamiliar objects against uniform or variegated backgrounds and compare discrimination performance for typical illuminations from the daylight chromaticity locus (approximately blue-yellow and atypical spectra from an orthogonal locus (approximately red-green, at correlated colour temperature 6700 K, all produced in real time by a 10-channel LED illuminator. We find that discrimination of illumination changes is poorer along the daylight locus than the atypical locus, and is poorest particularly for bluer illumination changes, demonstrating conversely that surface colour constancy is best for blue daylight illuminations. Illumination discrimination is also enhanced, and therefore colour constancy diminished, for uniform backgrounds, irrespective of the object type. These results are not explained by statistical properties of the scene signal changes at the retinal level. We conclude that high-level mechanisms of colour constancy are biased for the blue daylight illuminations and variegated backgrounds to which the human visual system has typically been exposed.

Light-induced atomic desorption and related phenomena

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burchianti, A; Bogi, A; Marinelli, C; Mariotti, E; Moi, L [CNISM and Physics Department, University of Siena, 53100 Siena (Italy)], E-mail: burchianti@unisi.it

2009-07-15

We review some recent studies on light-induced atomic desorption (LIAD) from dielectric surfaces. Alkali-metal atoms adsorbed either on organic films or on porous glass are released into the vapor phase under illumination. The measurements were performed in Pyrex resonance cells either coated with siloxane films or containing a porous glass sample. In both cases, the experimental results show that LIAD can be used to produce atomic densities suitable for most atomic physics experiments. Moreover, we find that photoinduced effects, correlated with LIAD, produce reversible formation and evaporation of alkali-metal clusters in porous glass. These processes depend on the light frequency, making the porous glass transmittance controllable by light.

Realtime global illumination using compressed pre-computed indirect illumination textures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bahnsen, Chris; Martin dit Neuville, Antoine; Pedersen, Casper

2012-01-01

and added to the direct illumination to produce the total illumination. Depending on the type of image produced, the algorithm allows a camera to move, and even objects to be added or modified at runtime to some extent. Finally, we will see that the amount of data to store and process can also be reduced...

Predicting Ground Illuminance

Science.gov (United States)

Lesniak, Michael V.; Tregoning, Brett D.; Hitchens, Alexandra E.

2015-01-01

Our Sun outputs 3.85 x 1026 W of radiation, of which roughly 37% is in the visible band. It is directly responsible for nearly all natural illuminance experienced on Earth's surface, either in the form of direct/refracted sunlight or in reflected light bouncing off the surfaces and/or atmospheres of our Moon and the visible planets. Ground illuminance, defined as the amount of visible light intercepting a unit area of surface (from all incident angles), varies over 7 orders of magnitude from day to night. It is highly dependent on well-modeled factors such as the relative positions of the Sun, Earth, and Moon. It is also dependent on less predictable factors such as local atmospheric conditions and weather.Several models have been proposed to predict ground illuminance, including Brown (1952) and Shapiro (1982, 1987). The Brown model is a set of empirical data collected from observation points around the world that has been reduced to a smooth fit of illuminance against a single variable, solar altitude. It provides limited applicability to the Moon and for cloudy conditions via multiplicative reduction factors. The Shapiro model is a theoretical model that treats the atmosphere as a three layer system of light reflectance and transmittance. It has different sets of reflectance and transmittance coefficients for various cloud types.In this paper we compare the models' predictions to ground illuminance data from an observing run at the White Sands missile range (data was obtained from the United Kingdom's Meteorology Office). Continuous illuminance readings were recorded under various cloud conditions, during both daytime and nighttime hours. We find that under clear skies, the Shapiro model tends to better fit the observations during daytime hours with typical discrepancies under 10%. Under cloudy skies, both models tend to poorly predict ground illuminance. However, the Shapiro model, with typical average daytime discrepancies of 25% or less in many cases

PENTrack-a simulation tool for ultracold neutrons, protons, and electrons in complex electromagnetic fields and geometries

Science.gov (United States)

Schreyer, W.; Kikawa, T.; Losekamm, M. J.; Paul, S.; Picker, R.

2017-06-01

Modern precision experiments trapping low-energy particles require detailed simulations of particle trajectories and spin precession to determine systematic measurement limitations and apparatus deficiencies. We developed PENTrack, a tool that allows to simulate trajectories of ultracold neutrons and their decay products-protons and electrons-and the precession of their spins in complex geometries and electromagnetic fields. The interaction of ultracold neutrons with matter is implemented with the Fermi-potential formalism and diffuse scattering using Lambert and microroughness models. The results of several benchmark simulations agree with STARucn v1.2, uncovered several flaws in Geant4 v10.2.2, and agree with experimental data. Experiment geometry and electromagnetic fields can be imported from commercial computer-aided-design and finite-element software. All simulation parameters are defined in simple text files allowing quick changes. The simulation code is written in C++ and is freely available at github.com/wschreyer/PENTrack.git.

Ground state of the polar alkali-metal-atom-strontium molecules: Potential energy curve and permanent dipole moment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guerout, R.; Aymar, M.; Dulieu, O.

2010-01-01

In this study, we investigate the structure of the polar alkali-metal-atom-strontium diatomic molecules as possible candidates for the realization of samples of ultracold polar molecular species not yet investigated experimentally. Using a quantum chemistry approach based on effective core potentials and core polarization potentials, we model these systems as effective three-valence-electron systems, allowing for calculation of electronic properties with full configuration interaction. The potential curve and the permanent dipole moment of the 2 Σ + ground state are determined as functions of the internuclear distance for LiSr, NaSr, KSr, RbSr, and CsSr molecules. These molecules are found to exhibit a significant permanent dipole moment, though smaller than those of the alkali-metal-atom-Rb molecules.

Comparison of two structured illumination techniques based on different 3D illumination patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Shabani, H.; Patwary, N.; Doblas, A.; Saavedra, G.; Preza, C.

2017-02-01

Manipulating the excitation pattern in optical microscopy has led to several super-resolution techniques. Among different patterns, the lateral sinusoidal excitation was used for the first demonstration of structured illumination microscopy (SIM), which provides the fastest SIM acquisition system (based on the number of raw images required) compared to the multi-spot illumination approach. Moreover, 3D patterns that include lateral and axial variations in the illumination have attracted more attention recently as they address resolution enhancement in three dimensions. A threewave (3W) interference technique based on coherent illumination has already been shown to provide super-resolution and optical sectioning in 3D-SIM. In this paper, we investigate a novel tunable technique that creates a 3D pattern from a set of multiple incoherently illuminated parallel slits that act as light sources for a Fresnel biprism. This setup is able to modulate the illumination pattern in the object space both axially and laterally with adjustable modulation frequencies. The 3D forward model for the new system is developed here to consider the effect of the axial modulation due to the 3D patterned illumination. The performance of 3D-SIM based on 3W interference and the tunable system are investigated in simulation and compared based on two different criteria. First, restored images obtained for both 3D-SIM systems using a generalized Wiener filter are compared to determine the effect of the illumination pattern on the reconstruction. Second, the effective frequency response of both systems is studied to determine the axial and lateral resolution enhancement that is obtained in each case.

Effects of illuminants and illumination time on lettuce growth, yield and nutritional quality in a controlled environment

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Y. Z.; Guo, S. S.; Ai, W. D.; Tang, Y. K.

2014-07-01

Effects of illuminants and illumination time on the growth of lettuce were researched. Red-blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs, 90% red light +10% blue light) and white light fluorescent (WF) lamps were compared as the illuminants for plant cultivation. Under each type of illuminant, lettuce was grown at 4 illumination times: 12 h, 16 h, 20 h and 24 h, with the same light intensity of 600 μmolm-2s-1. The leaf net photosynthetic rate (Pn) under the two illuminants was comparable but the shape of lettuce was obviously affected by the illuminant. The WF lamps produced more compact plant, while red-blue LED resulted in less but longer leaves. However, the total leaf area was not significantly affected by the illuminant. The red-blue LED produced nearly same aboveground biomass with far less energy consumption relative to WF lamps. The underground biomass was lowered under red-blue LED in comparison with WF lamps. Red-blue LED could improve the nutritional quality of lettuce by increasing the concentration of soluble sugar and vitamin C (VC) and reducing the concentration of nitrate. Under each type of illuminant, longer illumination time resulted in higher Pn, more leaves and larger leaf area. The total chlorophyll concentration increased while the concentration ratio of chlorophyll a/b decreased with the extension of illumination time. Illumination time had highly significant positive correlation with biomass. Moreover, when total daily light input was kept the same, longer illumination time increased the biomass significantly as well. In addition, longer illumination time increased the concentration of crude fiber, soluble sugar and VC and reduced the concentration of nitrate. In summary, red-blue LEDs and 24 h illumination time were demonstrated to be more suitable for lettuce cultivation in the controlled environment.

Moving converter as the possible tool for producing ultra-cold neutrons on pulsed neutron sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pokotilovskij, Yu.N.

1991-01-01

A method is proposed for producing ultra-cold neutrons (UCN) at aperiodic pulse neutron sources. It is based on the use of the fast moving cooled converter of UCN in the time of the neutron pulse and includes the trapping of generated UCN's in a moving trap. 6 refs.; 2 figs

Atom chip gravimeter

Science.gov (United States)

Schubert, Christian; Abend, Sven; Gebbe, Martina; Gersemann, Matthias; Ahlers, Holger; Müntinga, Hauke; Matthias, Jonas; Sahelgozin, Maral; Herr, Waldemar; Lämmerzahl, Claus; Ertmer, Wolfgang; Rasel, Ernst

2016-04-01

Atom interferometry has developed into a tool for measuring rotations [1], accelerations [2], and testing fundamental physics [3]. Gravimeters based on laser cooled atoms demonstrated residual uncertainties of few microgal [2,4] and were simplified for field applications [5]. Atomic gravimeters rely on the interference of matter waves which are coherently manipulated by laser light fields. The latter can be interpreted as rulers to which the position of the atoms is compared. At three points in time separated by a free evolution, the light fields are pulsed onto the atoms. First, a coherent superposition of two momentum states is produced, then the momentum is inverted, and finally the two trajectories are recombined. Depending on the acceleration the atoms experienced, the number of atoms detected in the output ports will change. Consequently, the acceleration can be determined from the output signal. The laser cooled atoms with microkelvin temperatures used in state-of-the-art gravimeters impose limits on the accuracy [4]. Therefore, ultra-cold atoms generated by Bose-Einstein condensation and delta-kick collimation [6,7] are expected to be the key for further improvements. These sources suffered from a low flux implying an incompatible noise floor, but a competitive performance was demonstrated recently with atom chips [8]. In the compact and robust setup constructed for operation in the drop tower [6] we demonstrated all steps necessary for an atom chip gravimeter with Bose-Einstein condensates in a ground based operation. We will discuss the principle of operation, the current performance, and the perspectives to supersede the state of the art. The authors thank the QUANTUS cooperation for contributions to the drop tower project in the earlier stages. This work is supported by the German Space Agency (DLR) with funds provided by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) due to an enactment of the German Bundestag under grant numbers DLR 50WM

The Coldest Place in the Universe: Probing the Ultra-cold Outflow and Dusty Disk in the Boomerang Nebula

Science.gov (United States)

Sahai, R.; Vlemmings, W. H. T.; Nyman, L.-Å.

2017-06-01

Our Cycle 0 ALMA observations confirmed that the Boomerang Nebula is the coldest known object in the universe, with a massive high-speed outflow that has cooled significantly below the cosmic background temperature. Our new CO 1-0 data reveal heretofore unseen distant regions of this ultra-cold outflow, out to ≳120,000 au. We find that in the ultra-cold outflow, the mass-loss rate (\\dot{M}) increases with radius, similar to its expansion velocity (V)—taking V\\propto r, we find \\dot{M}\\propto {r}0.9{--2.2}. The mass in the ultra-cold outflow is ≳ 3.3 M ⊙, and the Boomerang’s main-sequence progenitor mass is ≳ 4 M ⊙. Our high angular resolution (˜ 0\\buildrel{\\prime\\prime}\\over{.} 3) CO J = 3-2 map shows the inner bipolar nebula’s precise, highly collimated shape, and a dense central waist of size (FWHM) ˜1740 au × 275 au. The molecular gas and the dust as seen in scattered light via optical Hubble Space Telescope imaging show a detailed correspondence. The waist shows a compact core in thermal dust emission at 0.87-3.3 mm, which harbors (4{--}7)× {10}-4 M ⊙ of very large (˜millimeter-to-centimeter sized), cold (˜ 20{--}30 K) grains. The central waist (assuming its outer regions to be expanding) and fast bipolar outflow have expansion ages of ≲ 1925 {years} and ≤slant 1050 {years}: the “jet-lag” (I.e., torus age minus the fast-outflow age) in the Boomerang supports models in which the primary star interacts directly with a binary companion. We argue that this interaction resulted in a common-envelope configuration, while the Boomerang’s primary was an RGB or early-AGB star, with the companion finally merging into the primary’s core, and ejecting the primary’s envelope that now forms the ultra-cold outflow.

Daylight illumination-color-contrast tables for full-form objects naturally illuminated objects

CERN Document Server

Nagel, M

1978-01-01

Daylight Illumination-Color-Contrast Tables for Full-form Objects is the result of a major computational project concerning the illumination, color, and contrast conditions in naturally illuminated objects. The project from which this two-chapter book is derived is originally conceived in support of the various remote sensing and image processing activities of the Deutsche Forschungs- und Versuchsanstalt für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Oberpfaffenhofen, West Germany DFVLR, in particular, those depending on the quantitative photometric and colorimetric evaluation of photographs and other environmental

Understanding Molecular Ion-Neutral Atom Collisions for the Production of Ultracold Molecular Ions

Science.gov (United States)

2016-06-06

2012): 0. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.223002 Kuang Chen, Scott T. Sullivan, Wade G. Rellergert, Eric R. Hudson. Measurement of the Coulomb Logarithm...or fellowships for further studies in science, mathematics, engineering or technology fields: Student Metrics This section only applies to graduating...clouds of Ba+ ions and Ca atoms. Due to the strong Coulomb interaction, the Ba+ ions quickly cool the molecular ion translation motion, while the

Long-Lived Ultracold Molecules with Electric and Magnetic Dipole Moments

Science.gov (United States)

Rvachov, Timur M.; Son, Hyungmok; Sommer, Ariel T.; Ebadi, Sepehr; Park, Juliana J.; Zwierlein, Martin W.; Ketterle, Wolfgang; Jamison, Alan O.

2017-10-01

We create fermionic dipolar 23Na 6Li molecules in their triplet ground state from an ultracold mixture of 23Na and 6Li. Using magnetoassociation across a narrow Feshbach resonance followed by a two-photon stimulated Raman adiabatic passage to the triplet ground state, we produce 3 ×1 04 ground state molecules in a spin-polarized state. We observe a lifetime of 4.6 s in an isolated molecular sample, approaching the p -wave universal rate limit. Electron spin resonance spectroscopy of the triplet state was used to determine the hyperfine structure of this previously unobserved molecular state.

Magnetic-Field Dependence of Raman Coupling Strength in Ultracold "4"0K Atomic Fermi Gas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Liang-Hui; Wang Peng-Jun; Meng Zeng-Ming; Peng Peng; Chen Liang-Chao; Li Dong-Hao; Zhang Jing

2016-01-01

We experimentally demonstrate the relation of Raman coupling strength with the external bias magnetic field in degenerate Fermi gas of "4"0K atoms. Two Raman lasers couple two Zeeman energy levels, whose energy splitting depends on the external bias magnetic field. The Raman coupling strength is determined by measuring the Rabi oscillation frequency. The characteristics of the Rabi oscillation is to be damped after several periods due to Fermi atoms in different momentum states oscillating with different Rabi frequencies. The experimental results show that the Raman coupling strength will decrease as the external bias magnetic field increases, which is in good agreement with the theoretical prediction. (paper)

To the problem of spatial focusing of ultracold neutrons by nonuniform magnetic field. Eikonal approximation

CERN Document Server

Chen, T

2002-01-01

Motion of the ultracold neutrons in the nonuniform magnetic field with a square nonuniformity by two coordinates is considered. The Schroedinger equation is solved with application of the quasi-classical (eikonal) approach. The theoretical possibility of the neutrons spatial focusing with formation of the point focus and also the neutrons bunches is shown

Atom-optics knife-edge: Measuring sub-nanokelvin momentum distributions

Science.gov (United States)

Ramos, Ramon; Spierings, David; Steinberg, Aephraim

2017-04-01

Temperatures below 1 nanokelvin have been achieved in the recent years, enabling new classes of experiments which benefit from the resulting long coherence times. This achievement comes hand in hand with the challenge of measuring such low temperatures. By employing the equivalent of a knife-edge measurement for matter-waves, we have been able to characterize ultra-low momentum widths. We measured a momentum width corresponding to an effective temperature of 900 +/- 200 pK, only limited by our cooling performance. We show that this technique compares favourably with more traditional methods, which would require expansion times of 100's of ms or frequency stability of 10's of Hz. Finally, we show that the effective knife-edge, created by a potential barrier, begins to become ''blunt'' due to tunneling for thin barriers, and we obtain quantitative agreement with a theoretical model. This method is a useful tool for atomic interferometry and other areas in ultracold atoms where a robust and precise technique for characterizing the momentum distribution is required.

Natural light illumination system.

Science.gov (United States)

Whang, Allen Jong-Woei; Chen, Yi-Yung; Yang, Shu-Hua; Pan, Po-Hsuan; Chou, Kao-Hsu; Lee, Yu-Chi; Lee, Zong-Yi; Chen, Chi-An; Chen, Cheng-Nan

2010-12-10

In recent years, green energy has undergone a lot of development and has been the subject of many applications. Many research studies have focused on illumination with sunlight as a means of saving energy and creating healthy lighting. Natural light illumination systems have collecting, transmitting, and lighting elements. Today, most daylight collectors use dynamic concentrators; these include Sun tracking systems. However, this design is too expensive to be cost effective. To create a low-cost collector that can be easily installed on a large building, we have designed a static concentrator, which is prismatic and cascadable, to collect sunlight for indoor illumination. The transmission component uses a large number of optical fibers. Because optical fibers are expensive, this means that most of the cost for the system will be related to transmission. In this paper, we also use a prismatic structure to design an optical coupler for coupling n to 1. With the n-to-1 coupler, the number of optical fibers necessary can be greatly reduced. Although this new natural light illumination system can effectively guide collected sunlight and send it to the basement or to other indoor places for healthy lighting, previously there has been no way to manage the collected sunlight when lighting was not desired. To solve this problem, we have designed an optical switch and a beam splitter to control and separate the transmitted light. When replacing traditional sources, the lighting should have similar characteristics, such as intensity distribution and geometric parameters, to those of traditional artificial sources. We have designed, simulated, and optimized an illumination lightpipe with a dot pattern to redistribute the collected sunlight from the natural light illumination system such that it equals the qualities of a traditional lighting system. We also provide an active lighting module that provides lighting from the natural light illumination system or LED auxiliary

Continuous-measurement-enhanced self-trapping of degenerate ultracold atoms in a double well: Nonlinear quantum Zeno effect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Weidong; Liu Jie

2006-01-01

In the present paper we investigate the influence of measurements on the quantum dynamics of degenerate Bose atoms gases in a symmetric double well. We show that continuous measurements enhance asymmetry on the density distribution of the atoms and broaden the parameter regime for self-trapping. We term this phenomenon as nonlinear quantum Zeno effect in analog to the celebrated Zeno effect in a linear quantum system. Under discontinuous measurements, the self-trapping due to the atomic interaction in the degenerate bosons is shown to be destroyed completely. Underlying physics is revealed and possible experimental realization is discussed

PENTrack—a simulation tool for ultracold neutrons, protons, and electrons in complex electromagnetic fields and geometries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schreyer, W., E-mail: w.schreyer@tum.de [Technical University of Munich, James-Franck-Str. 1, 85748 Garching (Germany); Kikawa, T. [TRIUMF, 4004 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver (Canada); Losekamm, M.J.; Paul, S. [Technical University of Munich, James-Franck-Str. 1, 85748 Garching (Germany); Picker, R. [TRIUMF, 4004 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver (Canada); Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby (Canada)

2017-06-21

Modern precision experiments trapping low-energy particles require detailed simulations of particle trajectories and spin precession to determine systematic measurement limitations and apparatus deficiencies. We developed PENTrack, a tool that allows to simulate trajectories of ultracold neutrons and their decay products—protons and electrons—and the precession of their spins in complex geometries and electromagnetic fields. The interaction of ultracold neutrons with matter is implemented with the Fermi-potential formalism and diffuse scattering using Lambert and microroughness models. The results of several benchmark simulations agree with STARucn v1.2, uncovered several flaws in Geant4 v10.2.2, and agree with experimental data. Experiment geometry and electromagnetic fields can be imported from commercial computer-aided-design and finite-element software. All simulation parameters are defined in simple text files allowing quick changes. The simulation code is written in C++ and is freely available at (github.com/wschreyer/PENTrack.git).

Ab Initio Study of Chemical Reactions of Cold SrF and CaF Molecules with Alkali-Metal and Alkaline-Earth-Metal Atoms: The Implications for Sympathetic Cooling.

Science.gov (United States)

Kosicki, Maciej Bartosz; Kędziera, Dariusz; Żuchowski, Piotr Szymon

2017-06-01

We investigate the energetics of the atom exchange reaction in the SrF + alkali-metal atom and CaF + alkali-metal atom systems. Such reactions are possible only for collisions of SrF and CaF with the lithium atoms, while they are energetically forbidden for other alkali-metal atoms. Specifically, we focus on SrF interacting with Li, Rb, and Sr atoms and use ab initio methods to demonstrate that the SrF + Li and SrF + Sr reactions are barrierless. We present potential energy surfaces for the interaction of the SrF molecule with the Li, Rb, and Sr atoms in their energetically lowest-lying electronic spin states. The obtained potential energy surfaces are deep and exhibit profound interaction anisotropies. We predict that the collisions of SrF molecules in the rotational or Zeeman excited states most likely have a strong inelastic character. We discuss the prospects for the sympathetic cooling of SrF and CaF molecules using ultracold alkali-metal atoms.

Sheet Fluorescence and Annular Analysis of Ultracold Neutral Plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castro, J.; Gao, H.; Killian, T. C.

2009-01-01

Annular analysis of fluorescence imaging measurements on Ultracold Neutral Plasmas (UNPs) is demonstrated. Spatially-resolved fluorescence imaging of the strontium ions produces a spectrum that is Doppler-broadened due to the thermal ion velocity and shifted due to the ion expansion velocity. The fluorescence excitation beam is spatially narrowed into a sheet, allowing for localized analysis of ion temperatures within a volume of the plasma with small density variation. Annular analysis of fluorescence images permits an enhanced signal-to-noise ratio compared to previous fluorescence measurements done in strontium UNPs. Using this technique and analysis, plasma ion temperatures are measured and shown to display characteristics of plasmas with strong coupling such as disorder induced heating and kinetic energy oscillations.

Confinement of ultra-cold neutron in a multiple cusp magnetic field

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Akiyama, Nobumichi; Inoue, Nobuyuki; Nihei, Hitoshi; Kinosita, Ken-ichi [Tokyo Univ. (Japan). Faculty of Engineering

1996-08-01

A new confinement system of ultra-cold neutrons is proposed. The neutron bottle is made of a rectangular vacuum chamber with the size of 40 cm x 40 cm x 30 cm covered with arrays of bar type permanent magnets. The operation of bottle requires neither cooling system nor high electric power supply, and thereby the bottle is appropriate to use in the room which is located in controlled area. The maximum kinetic energy of neutrons confined is 20 neV. Experimental scheme to test the performance of the bottle is described. (author)

Evaluation of commercial nickel-phosphorus coating for ultracold neutron guides using a pinhole bottling method

Science.gov (United States)

Pattie, R. W.; Adamek, E. R.; Brenner, T.; Brandt, A.; Broussard, L. J.; Callahan, N. B.; Clayton, S. M.; Cude-Woods, C.; Currie, S. A.; Geltenbort, P.; Ito, T. M.; Lauer, T.; Liu, C. Y.; Majewski, J.; Makela, M.; Masuda, Y.; Morris, C. L.; Ramsey, J. C.; Salvat, D. J.; Saunders, A.; Schroffenegger, J.; Tang, Z.; Wei, W.; Wang, Z.; Watkins, E.; Young, A. R.; Zeck, B. A.

2017-11-01

We report on the evaluation of commercial electroless nickel phosphorus (NiP) coatings for ultracold neutron (UCN) transport and storage. The material potential of 50 μm thick NiP coatings on stainless steel and aluminum substrates was measured to be VF = 213(5 . 2) neV using the time-of-flight spectrometer ASTERIX at the Lujan Center. The loss per bounce probability was measured in pinhole bottling experiments carried out at ultracold neutron sources at Los Alamos Neutron Science Center and the Institut Laue-Langevin. For these tests a new guide coupling design was used to minimize gaps between the guide sections. The observed UCN loss in the bottle was interpreted in terms of an energy independent effective loss per bounce, which is the appropriate model when gaps in the system and upscattering are the dominate loss mechanisms, yielding a loss per bounce of 1 . 3(1) × 10-4. We also present a detailed discussion of the pinhole bottling methodology and an energy dependent analysis of the experimental results.

Laser cooling of a magnetically guided ultra cold atom beam

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aghajani-Talesh, Anoush

2014-07-01

This thesis examines two complimentary methods for the laser cooling of a magnetically guided ultra-cold atom beam. If combined, these methods could serve as a starting point for high-through put and possibly even continuous production of Bose-Einstein condensates. First, a mechanism is outlined to harvest ultra cold atoms from a magnetically guided atom beam into an optical dipole trap. A continuous loading scheme is described that dissipates the directed kinetic energy of a captured atom via deceleration by a magnetic potential barrier followed by optical pumping to the energetically lowest Zeeman sublevel. The application of this scheme to the transfer of ultra cold chromium atoms from a magnetically guided atom beam into a deep optical dipole trap is investigated via numerical simulations of the loading process. Based on the results of the theoretical studies the feasibility and the efficiency of our loading scheme, including the realisation of a suitable magnetic field configuration, are analysed. Second, experiments were conducted on the transverse laser cooling of a magnetically guided beam of ultra cold chromium atoms. Radial compression by a tapering of the guide is employed to adiabatically heat the beam. Inside the tapered section heat is extracted from the atom beam by a two-dimensional optical molasses perpendicular to it, resulting in a significant increase of atomic phase space density. A magnetic offset field is applied to prevent optical pumping to untrapped states. Our results demonstrate that by a suitable choice of the magnetic offset field, the cooling beam intensity and detuning, atom losses and longitudinal heating can be avoided. Final temperatures below 65 μK have been achieved, corresponding to an increase of phase space density in the guided beam by more than a factor of 30.

Laser cooling of a magnetically guided ultra cold atom beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aghajani-Talesh, Anoush

2014-01-01

This thesis examines two complimentary methods for the laser cooling of a magnetically guided ultra-cold atom beam. If combined, these methods could serve as a starting point for high-through put and possibly even continuous production of Bose-Einstein condensates. First, a mechanism is outlined to harvest ultra cold atoms from a magnetically guided atom beam into an optical dipole trap. A continuous loading scheme is described that dissipates the directed kinetic energy of a captured atom via deceleration by a magnetic potential barrier followed by optical pumping to the energetically lowest Zeeman sublevel. The application of this scheme to the transfer of ultra cold chromium atoms from a magnetically guided atom beam into a deep optical dipole trap is investigated via numerical simulations of the loading process. Based on the results of the theoretical studies the feasibility and the efficiency of our loading scheme, including the realisation of a suitable magnetic field configuration, are analysed. Second, experiments were conducted on the transverse laser cooling of a magnetically guided beam of ultra cold chromium atoms. Radial compression by a tapering of the guide is employed to adiabatically heat the beam. Inside the tapered section heat is extracted from the atom beam by a two-dimensional optical molasses perpendicular to it, resulting in a significant increase of atomic phase space density. A magnetic offset field is applied to prevent optical pumping to untrapped states. Our results demonstrate that by a suitable choice of the magnetic offset field, the cooling beam intensity and detuning, atom losses and longitudinal heating can be avoided. Final temperatures below 65 μK have been achieved, corresponding to an increase of phase space density in the guided beam by more than a factor of 30.

Illumination normalization of face image based on illuminant direction estimation and improved Retinex.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jizheng Yi

Full Text Available Illumination normalization of face image for face recognition and facial expression recognition is one of the most frequent and difficult problems in image processing. In order to obtain a face image with normal illumination, our method firstly divides the input face image into sixteen local regions and calculates the edge level percentage in each of them. Secondly, three local regions, which meet the requirements of lower complexity and larger average gray value, are selected to calculate the final illuminant direction according to the error function between the measured intensity and the calculated intensity, and the constraint function for an infinite light source model. After knowing the final illuminant direction of the input face image, the Retinex algorithm is improved from two aspects: (1 we optimize the surround function; (2 we intercept the values in both ends of histogram of face image, determine the range of gray levels, and stretch the range of gray levels into the dynamic range of display device. Finally, we achieve illumination normalization and get the final face image. Unlike previous illumination normalization approaches, the method proposed in this paper does not require any training step or any knowledge of 3D face and reflective surface model. The experimental results using extended Yale face database B and CMU-PIE show that our method achieves better normalization effect comparing with the existing techniques.

Illumination normalization of face image based on illuminant direction estimation and improved Retinex.

Science.gov (United States)

Yi, Jizheng; Mao, Xia; Chen, Lijiang; Xue, Yuli; Rovetta, Alberto; Caleanu, Catalin-Daniel

2015-01-01

Illumination normalization of face image for face recognition and facial expression recognition is one of the most frequent and difficult problems in image processing. In order to obtain a face image with normal illumination, our method firstly divides the input face image into sixteen local regions and calculates the edge level percentage in each of them. Secondly, three local regions, which meet the requirements of lower complexity and larger average gray value, are selected to calculate the final illuminant direction according to the error function between the measured intensity and the calculated intensity, and the constraint function for an infinite light source model. After knowing the final illuminant direction of the input face image, the Retinex algorithm is improved from two aspects: (1) we optimize the surround function; (2) we intercept the values in both ends of histogram of face image, determine the range of gray levels, and stretch the range of gray levels into the dynamic range of display device. Finally, we achieve illumination normalization and get the final face image. Unlike previous illumination normalization approaches, the method proposed in this paper does not require any training step or any knowledge of 3D face and reflective surface model. The experimental results using extended Yale face database B and CMU-PIE show that our method achieves better normalization effect comparing with the existing techniques.

Applications of atom interferometry - from ground to space

Science.gov (United States)

Schubert, Christian; Rasel, Ernst Maria; Gaaloul, Naceur; Ertmer, Wolfgang

2016-07-01

Atom interferometry is utilized for the measurement of rotations [1], accelerations [2] and for tests of fundamental physics [3]. In these devices, three laser light pulses separated by a free evolution time coherently manipulate the matter waves which resembles the Mach-Zehnder geometry in optics. Atom gravimeters demonstrated an accuracy of few microgal [2,4], and atom gradiometers showed a noise floor of 30 E Hz^{-1/2} [5]. Further enhancements of atom interferometers are anticipated by the integration of novel source concepts providing ultracold atoms, extending the free fall time of the atoms, and enhanced techniques for coherent manipulation. Sources providing Bose-Einstein condensates recently demontrated a flux compatible with precision experiments [6]. All of these aspects are studied in the transportable quantum gravimeter QG-1 and the very long baseline atom interferometry teststand in Hannover [7] with the goal of surpassing the microgal regime. Going beyond ground based setups, the QUANTUS collaboration exploits the unique features of a microgravity environment in drop tower experiments [8] and in a sounding rocket mission. The payloads are compact and robust atom optics experiments based on atom chips [6], enabling technology for transportable sensors on ground as a byproduct. More prominently, they are pathfinders for proposed satellite missions as tests of the universality of free fall [9] and gradiometry based on atom interferometers [10]. This work is supported by the German Space Agency (DLR) with funds provided by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) due to an enactment of the German Bundestag under grant numbers DLR 50WM1552-1557 (QUANTUS-IV-Fallturm) and by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft in the framework of the SFB 1128 geo-Q. [1] PRL 114 063002 2015 [2] Nature 400 849 1999 [3] PRL 112 203002 2014 [4] NJP 13 065026 2011 [5] PRA 65 033608 2002 [6] NJP 17 065001 2015 [7] NJP 17 035011 2015 [8] PRL 110 093602 2013 [9

Photocatalytic activity of Sulfer-doped TiO2 fiber under visible light illumination (Joint research)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeyama, Akinori; Yamamoto, Shunya; Yoshikawa, Masahito; Hasegawa, Yoshio; Awatsu, Satoshi

2007-03-01

The Sol-Gel derived precursor fiber was annealed under hydrogen disulfeid (H 2 S) following oxygen atmosphere, Sulfur-doped TiO 2 fiber was obtained. Crystal structure of the fiber was identified as anatase phase of TiO 2 . The energy band gap of the fiber was narrower by about 0.06 eV than that of anatase, which showed that it could absorb visible light. The fiber contains about 0.58 atomic % of Sulfur, and they located at the oxygen lattice site of TiO 2 . Under visible light illumination, the fiber degraded Trichloroethylen (TCE) and produced carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). This shows Sulfur-doped TiO 2 fiber has the photocatalytic activity under visible light illumination. (author)

Diffraction analysis of customized illumination technique

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Chang-Moon; Kim, Seo-Min; Eom, Tae-Seung; Moon, Seung Chan; Shin, Ki S.

2004-05-01

Various enhancement techniques such as alternating PSM, chrome-less phase lithography, double exposure, etc. have been considered as driving forces to lead the production k1 factor towards below 0.35. Among them, a layer specific optimization of illumination mode, so-called customized illumination technique receives deep attentions from lithographers recently. A new approach for illumination customization based on diffraction spectrum analysis is suggested in this paper. Illumination pupil is divided into various diffraction domains by comparing the similarity of the confined diffraction spectrum. Singular imaging property of individual diffraction domain makes it easier to build and understand the customized illumination shape. By comparing the goodness of image in each domain, it was possible to achieve the customized shape of illumination. With the help from this technique, it was found that the layout change would not gives the change in the shape of customized illumination mode.

Quantum control of ultra-cold atoms: uncovering a novel connection between two paradigms of quantum nonlinear dynamics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wang, Jiao; Mouritzen, Anders Sørrig; Gong, Jiangbin

2009-01-01

Controlling the translational motion of cold atoms using optical lattice potentials is of both theoretical and experimental interest. By designing two on-resonance time sequences of kicking optical lattice potentials, a novel connection between two paradigms of nonlinear mapping systems, i.e. the...... sequences of control fields. Extensions of this study are also discussed. The results are intended to open up a new generation of cold-atom experiments of quantum nonlinear dynamics.......Controlling the translational motion of cold atoms using optical lattice potentials is of both theoretical and experimental interest. By designing two on-resonance time sequences of kicking optical lattice potentials, a novel connection between two paradigms of nonlinear mapping systems, i...

Illumination influences working memory: an EEG study.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Jin Young; Min, Byoung-Kyong; Jung, Young-Chul; Pak, Hyensou; Jeong, Yeon-Hong; Kim, Eosu

2013-09-05

Illumination conditions appear to influence working efficacy in everyday life. In the present study, we obtained electroencephalogram (EEG) correlates of working-memory load, and investigated how these waveforms are modulated by illumination conditions. We hypothesized that illumination conditions may affect cognitive performance. We designed an EEG study to monitor and record participants' EEG during the Sternberg working memory task under four different illumination conditions. Illumination conditions were generated with a factorial design of two color-temperatures (3000 and 7100 K) by two illuminance levels (150 and 700 lx). During a working memory task, we observed that high illuminance led to significantly lower frontal EEG theta activity than did low illuminance. These differences persisted despite no significant difference in task performance between illumination conditions. We found that the latency of an early event-related potential component, such as N1, was significantly modulated by the illumination condition. The fact that the illumination condition affects brain activity but not behavioral performance suggests that the lighting conditions used in the present study did not influence the performance stage of behavioral processing. Nevertheless, our findings provide objective evidence that illumination conditions modulate brain activity. Further studies are necessary to refine the optimal lighting parameters for facilitating working memory. Copyright © 2013 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A multilayer surface detector for ultracold neutrons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Zhehui, E-mail: zwang@lanl.gov [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); Hoffbauer, M.A.; Morris, C.L. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); Callahan, N.B.; Adamek, E.R. [Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405 (United States); Bacon, J.D. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); Blatnik, M. [Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH 44115 (United States); Brandt, A.E. [North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695 (United States); Broussard, L.J.; Clayton, S.M. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); Cude-Woods, C. [North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695 (United States); Currie, S. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); Dees, E.B. [North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695 (United States); Ding, X. [Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061 (United States); Gao, J. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); Gray, F.E. [Regis University, Denver, CO 80221 (United States); Hickerson, K.P. [University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States); Holley, A.T. [Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, TN 38505 (United States); Ito, T.M. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); Liu, C.-Y. [Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405 (United States); and others

2015-10-21

A multilayer surface detector for ultracold neutrons (UCNs) is described. The top {sup 10}B layer is exposed to vacuum and directly captures UCNs. The ZnS:Ag layer beneath the {sup 10}B layer is a few microns thick, which is sufficient to detect the charged particles from the {sup 10}B(n,α){sup 7}Li neutron-capture reaction, while thin enough that ample light due to α and {sup 7}Li escapes for detection by photomultiplier tubes. A 100-nm thick {sup 10}B layer gives high UCN detection efficiency, as determined by the mean UCN kinetic energy, detector materials, and other parameters. Low background, including negligible sensitivity to ambient neutrons, has also been verified through pulse-shape analysis and comparison with other existing {sup 3}He and {sup 10}B detectors. This type of detector has been configured in different ways for UCN flux monitoring, development of UCN guides and neutron lifetime research.

Developing Density of Laser-Cooled Neutral Atoms and Molecules in a Linear Magnetic Trap

Science.gov (United States)

Velasquez, Joe, III; Walstrom, Peter; di Rosa, Michael

2013-05-01

In this poster we show that neutral particle injection and accumulation using laser-induced spin flips may be used to form dense ensembles of ultracold magnetic particles, i.e., laser-cooled paramagnetic atoms and molecules. Particles are injected in a field-seeking state, are switched by optical pumping to a field-repelled state, and are stored in the minimum-B trap. The analogous process in high-energy charged-particle accumulator rings is charge-exchange injection using stripper foils. The trap is a linear array of sextupoles capped by solenoids. Particle-tracking calculations and design of our linear accumulator along with related experiments involving 7Li will be presented. We test these concepts first with atoms in preparation for later work with selected molecules. Finally, we present our preliminary results with CaH, our candidate molecule for laser cooling. This project is funded by the LDRD program of Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Quantum Illumination with Noiseless Linear Amplifier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Sheng-Li; Wang -Kun; Guo Jian-Sheng; Shi Jian-Hong

2015-01-01

Quantum illumination, that is, quantum target detection, is to detect the potential target with two-mode quantum entangled state. For a given transmitted energy, the quantum illumination can achieve a target-detection probability of error much lower than the illumination scheme without entanglement. We investigate the usefulness of noiseless linear amplification (NLA) for quantum illumination. Our result shows that NLA can help to substantially reduce the number of quantum entangled states collected for joint measurement of multi-copy quantum state. Our analysis on the NLA-assisted scheme could help to develop more efficient schemes for quantum illumination. (paper)

The world of quantum matter

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2006-01-01

In my lecture series, I will present the recent spectacular advances in the field of quantum gases and macroscopic quantum physics. A variety of subjects will be covered including Bose condensates and degenerate Fermi gases, ultracold molecules and chemistry near absolute zero, Rydberg gases, single-atom manipulation, quantum information processing, as well as applications of cold atoms as precision targets. The topics of the lectures are: I. Physics near absolute zero II. Bose condensation and Fermi degeneracy III. Molecules, Rydberg gases and other exotic species IV. Single-atom manipulation, quantum information processing and ultracold atoms as targets in storage rings

Engineering an all-optical route to ultracold molecules in their vibronic ground state

OpenAIRE

Koch, Christiane P.; Moszynski, Robert

2008-01-01

We propose an improved photoassociation scheme to produce ultracold molecules in their vibronic ground state for the generic case where non-adiabatic effects facilitating transfer to deeply bound levels are absent. Formation of molecules is achieved by short laser pulses in a Raman-like pump-dump process where an additional near-infrared laser field couples the excited state to an auxiliary state. The coupling due to the additional field effectively changes the shape of the excited state pote...

Biological Effects Of Artificial Illumination

Science.gov (United States)

Corth, Richard

1980-10-01

We are increasingly being warned of the possible effects of so called "polluted" light, that is light that differs in spectral content from that of sunlight. We should be concerned, we are told, because all animals and plants have evolved under this natural daylight and therefore any difference between that illuminant and the artificial illuminants that are on the market today, is suspect. The usual presentation of the differences between the sunlight and the artificial illuminants are as shown in Figure 1. Here we are shown the spectral power distribution of sunlight and Cool White fluorescent light. The spectral power distributions of each have been normalized to some convenient wavelength so that each can be seen and easily compared on the same figure. But this presentation is misleading for one does not experience artificial illuminants at the same intensity as one experiences sunlight. Sunlight intensities are ordinarily found to be in the 8000 to 10,000 footcandle range whereas artificial illuminants are rarely experienced at intensity levels greater than 100 footcandles. Therefore a representative difference between the two types of illumination conditions is more accurately represented as in Figure 2. Thus if evolutionary adaptations require that humans and other animals be exposed to sunlight to ensure wellbeing, it is clear that one must be exposed to sunlight intensities. It is not feasible to expect that artificially illuminated environments will be lit to the same intensity as sunlight

Main effects of the Earth's rotation on the stationary states of ultra-cold neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arminjon, Mayeul

2008-01-01

The relativistic corrections in the Hamiltonian for a particle in a uniformly rotating frame are discussed. They are shown to be negligible in the case of ultra-cold neutrons (UCN) in the Earth's gravity. The effect, on the energy levels of UCN, of the main term due to the Earth's rotation, i.e. the angular-momentum term, is calculated. The energy shift is found proportional to the energy level itself

A prestorage method to measure neutron transmission of ultracold neutron guides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blau, B.; Daum, M.; Fertl, M.; Geltenbort, P.; Göltl, L.; Henneck, R.; Kirch, K.; Knecht, A.; Lauss, B.; Schmidt-Wellenburg, P.; Zsigmond, G.

2016-01-01

There are worldwide efforts to search for physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. Precision experiments using ultracold neutrons (UCN) require very high intensities of UCN. Efficient transport of UCN from the production volume to the experiment is therefore of great importance. We have developed a method using prestored UCN in order to quantify UCN transmission in tubular guides. This method simulates the final installation at the Paul Scherrer Institute's UCN source where neutrons are stored in an intermediate storage vessel serving three experimental ports. This method allowed us to qualify UCN guides for their intended use and compare their properties.

Development and trial measurement of synchrotron-radiation-light-illuminated scanning tunneling microscope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsushima, Takeshi; Okuda, Taichi; Eguchi, Toyoaki; Ono, Masanori; Harasawa, Ayumi; Wakita, Takanori; Kataoka, Akira; Hamada, Masayuki; Kamoshida, Atsushi; Hasegawa, Yukio; Kinoshita, Toyohiko

2004-01-01

Scanning tunneling microscope (STM) study is performed under synchrotron-radiation-light illumination. The equipment is designed so as to achieve atomic resolution even under rather noisy conditions in the synchrotron radiation facility. By measuring photoexcited electron current by the STM tip together with the conventional STM tunneling current, Si 2p soft-x-ray absorption spectra are successfully obtained from a small area of Si(111) surface. The results are a first step toward realizing a new element-specific microscope

Chromosome structure investigated with the atomic force microscope

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Grooth, B.G.; Putman, C.A.J.; Putman, Constant A.; van der Werf, Kees; van Hulst, N.F.; van Oort, G.; van Oort, Geeske; Greve, Jan; Manne, Srinivas

1992-01-01

We have developed an atomic force microscope (AFM) with an integrated optical microscope. The optical microscope consists of an inverted epi-illumination system that yields images in reflection or fluorescence of the sample. With this system it is possible to quickly locate an object of interest. A

Creation of ³⁹K Bose-Einstein condensates with tunable interaction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Winter, Nils

2013-01-01

The capability of producing ultracold atomic gases has had considerable impact on the field of quantum physics. Due to their purity and tolerance against external perturbation these ensembles are an ideal instrument for precision experiments in atomic and molecular physics. The ability to create...... the investigation of ultracold chemistry or ideal cases such as non-interacting Bose-gases as well as unitary gases. Within the framework of this thesis two research direction were explored. First the creation of wave-packets in an optical lattice was demonstrated, which allows for pump probe-spectroscopy using...... they provide regular lattices that are used as a quantum simulator of solid state systems. In particular the Mott-insulator phase and Cooper paring of fermions could be observed in these ultracold systems. Furthermore the scattering properties of some atomic gases can be tuned to a great extend. This allows...

Prospects for Studies of the Free Fall and Gravitational Quantum States of Antimatter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Dufour

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Different experiments are ongoing to measure the effect of gravity on cold neutral antimatter atoms such as positronium, muonium, and antihydrogen. Among those, the project GBAR at CERN aims to measure precisely the gravitational fall of ultracold antihydrogen atoms. In the ultracold regime, the interaction of antihydrogen atoms with a surface is governed by the phenomenon of quantum reflection which results in bouncing of antihydrogen atoms on matter surfaces. This allows the application of a filtering scheme to increase the precision of the free fall measurement. In the ultimate limit of smallest vertical velocities, antihydrogen atoms are settled in gravitational quantum states in close analogy to ultracold neutrons (UCNs. Positronium is another neutral system involving antimatter for which free fall under gravity is currently being investigated at UCL. Building on the experimental techniques under development for the free fall measurement, gravitational quantum states could also be observed in positronium. In this contribution, we report on the status of the ongoing experiments and discuss the prospects of observing gravitational quantum states of antimatter and their implications.

Progress on the Magnetic Trapping of Ultra-cold Neutrons

Science.gov (United States)

Doyle, John M.

1998-04-01

Ultra-cold neutrons (UCN) have been instrumental in making improved measurements of the neutron beta-decay lifetime and in searches for a permanent electric dipole moment.(R. Golub, D. Richardson and S.K. Lamoreaux, Ultra-cold Neutrons), Adam Hilger, 1991 The most accurate experiments have taken place using in-core devices at ILL (Grenoble, France) and PNPI (St. Petersburg, Russia). Superthermal techniques offer the promise of high-density sources of UCN via scattering of cold neutrons. Cold neutron beams are available at many neutron facilities. We are currently working on the development of a superfluid helium UCN source using the Cold Neutron Research Facility at the NIST Research Reactor (Gaithersburg) . Our first experiment plans to use superthermal scattering of neutrons in superfluid helium to produce UCN within a magnetic trapping volume. A magnetic trap 30 cm long and 4 cm diameter will be filled with helium at about 100 mK. Cold neutrons (around 11 K) will be introduced into the trapping region where some of them scatter to low enough energies (around 1 mK) so that they are magnetically trapped. Once trapped the UCN travel undisturbed; they have a very small probability of upscattering. Detection will be accomplished as the UCN beta-decay. The resultant high-energy electron creates excited molecular helium dimers, a portion which decay in less than 10 ns and emit radiation in the XUV (50-100 nm). We have developed techniques to measure these scintillations. Analysis indicates that a high accuracy measurement of the neutron beta decay lifetime should be possible using our techniques. An apparatus has been constructed and initial runs are underway. An overview of the experiment, discussion of systematic errors and recent experimental progress will be presented. This work is done in collaboration with C. Brome, J. Butterworth, S. Dzhosyuk, P. Huffman, C. Mattoni, D. McKinsey, M. Cooper, G. Greene, S. Lamoreaux, R. Golub, K. Habicht, K. Coakley, S. Dewey, D

Exploring an ultracold Fermi-Fermi mixture: Interspecies Feshbach resonances and scattering properties of 6Li and 40K

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wille, E.; Spiegelhalder, F.M.; Kerner, G.; Naik, D.; Trenkwalder, A.; Hendl, G.; Schreck, F.; Grimm, R.; Tiecke, T.G.; Walraven, J.T.M.; Kokkelmans, S.J.J.M.F.; Tiesinga, E.; Julienne, P.S.

2008-01-01

We report on the observation of Feshbach resonances in an ultracold mixture of two fermionic species, 6Li and 40K. The experimental data are interpreted using a simple asymptotic bound state model and full coupled channels calculations. This unambiguously assigns the observed resonances in terms of

Illumination estimation via thin-plate spline interpolation.

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Lilong; Xiong, Weihua; Funt, Brian

2011-05-01

Thin-plate spline interpolation is used to interpolate the chromaticity of the color of the incident scene illumination across a training set of images. Given the image of a scene under unknown illumination, the chromaticity of the scene illumination can be found from the interpolated function. The resulting illumination-estimation method can be used to provide color constancy under changing illumination conditions and automatic white balancing for digital cameras. A thin-plate spline interpolates over a nonuniformly sampled input space, which in this case is a training set of image thumbnails and associated illumination chromaticities. To reduce the size of the training set, incremental k medians are applied. Tests on real images demonstrate that the thin-plate spline method can estimate the color of the incident illumination quite accurately, and the proposed training set pruning significantly decreases the computation.

Improved Noninterferometric Test of Collapse Models Using Ultracold Cantilevers

Science.gov (United States)

Vinante, A.; Mezzena, R.; Falferi, P.; Carlesso, M.; Bassi, A.

2017-09-01

Spontaneous collapse models predict that a weak force noise acts on any mechanical system, as a consequence of the collapse of the wave function. Significant upper limits on the collapse rate have been recently inferred from precision mechanical experiments, such as ultracold cantilevers and the space mission LISA Pathfinder. Here, we report new results from an experiment based on a high-Q cantilever cooled to millikelvin temperatures, which is potentially able to improve the current bounds on the continuous spontaneous localization (CSL) model by 1 order of magnitude. High accuracy measurements of the cantilever thermal fluctuations reveal a nonthermal force noise of unknown origin. This excess noise is compatible with the CSL heating predicted by Adler. Several physical mechanisms able to explain the observed noise have been ruled out.

Image illumination enhancement with an objective no-reference measure of illumination assessment based on Gaussian distribution mapping

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gholamreza Anbarjafari

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Illumination problems have been an important concern in many image processing applications. The pattern of the histogram on an image introduces meaningful features; hence within the process of illumination enhancement, it is important not to destroy such information. In this paper we propose a method to enhance image illumination using Gaussian distribution mapping which also keeps the information laid on the pattern of the histogram on the original image. First a Gaussian distribution based on the mean and standard deviation of the input image will be calculated. Simultaneously a Gaussian distribution with the desired mean and standard deviation will be calculated. Then a cumulative distribution function of each of the Gaussian distributions will be calculated and used in order to map the old pixel value onto the new pixel value. Another important issue in the field of illumination enhancement is absence of a quantitative measure for the assessment of the illumination of an image. In this research work, a quantitative measure indicating the illumination state, i.e. contrast level and brightness of an image, is also proposed. The measure utilizes the estimated Gaussian distribution of the input image and the Kullback-Leibler Divergence (KLD between the estimated Gaussian and the desired Gaussian distributions to calculate the quantitative measure. The experimental results show the effectiveness and the reliability of the proposed illumination enhancement technique, as well as the proposed illumination assessment measure over conventional and state-of-the-art techniques.

A solenoidal electron spectrometer for a precision measurement of the neutron β-asymmetry with ultracold neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Plaster, B.; Carr, R.; Filippone, B.W.; Harrison, D.; Hsiao, J.; Ito, T.M.; Liu, J.; Martin, J.W.; Tipton, B.; Yuan, J.

2008-01-01

We describe an electron spectrometer designed for a precision measurement of the neutron β-asymmetry with spin-polarized ultracold neutrons. The spectrometer consists of a 1.0-T solenoidal field with two identical multiwire proportional chamber and plastic scintillator electron detector packages situated within 0.6-T field-expansion regions. Select results from performance studies of the spectrometer with calibration sources are reported

A solenoidal electron spectrometer for a precision measurement of the neutron {beta}-asymmetry with ultracold neutrons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Plaster, B. [W.K. Kellogg Radiation Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506 (United States)], E-mail: plaster@pa.uky.edu; Carr, R.; Filippone, B.W. [W.K. Kellogg Radiation Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Harrison, D. [Physics Department, University of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3B 2E9 (Canada); Hsiao, J. [W.K. Kellogg Radiation Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Ito, T.M. [W.K. Kellogg Radiation Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); Liu, J. [W.K. Kellogg Radiation Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Martin, J.W. [W.K. Kellogg Radiation Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Physics Department, University of Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B 2E9 (Canada); Tipton, B.; Yuan, J. [W.K. Kellogg Radiation Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)

2008-10-11

We describe an electron spectrometer designed for a precision measurement of the neutron {beta}-asymmetry with spin-polarized ultracold neutrons. The spectrometer consists of a 1.0-T solenoidal field with two identical multiwire proportional chamber and plastic scintillator electron detector packages situated within 0.6-T field-expansion regions. Select results from performance studies of the spectrometer with calibration sources are reported.

Universal relations of an ultracold Fermi gas with arbitrary spin-orbit coupling

Science.gov (United States)

Jie, Jianwen; Qi, Ran; Zhang, Peng

2018-05-01

We derive the universal relations for an ultracold two-component Fermi gas with a spin-orbit coupling (SOC) ∑α,β =x ,y ,zλα βσαpβ , where px ,y ,z and σx ,y ,z are the single-atom momentum and Pauli operators for pseudospin, respectively, and the SOC intensity λα β could take an arbitrary value. We consider the system with an s -wave short-range interspecies interaction, and ignore the SOC-induced modification for the value of the scattering length. Using the first-quantized approach developed by Tan [S. Tan, Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 145302 (2011), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.145302], we obtain the short-range and high-momentum expansions for the one-body real-space correlation function and momentum distribution function, respectively. For our system these functions are a 2 ×2 matrix in the pseudospin basis. We find that the leading-order (1 /k4 ) behavior of the diagonal elements of the momentum distribution function, i.e., n↑↑(k ) and n↓↓(k ) , are not modified by the SOC. However, the SOC can significantly modify the large-k behaviors of the distribution difference δ n (k ) ≡n↑↑(k ) -n↓↓(k ) as well as the nondiagonal elements of the momentum distribution function, i.e., n↑↓(k ) and n↓↑(k ) . In the absence of the SOC, the leading order of δ n (k ) , n↑↓(k ) , and n↓↑(k ) is O (1 /k6) . When SOC appears, it can induce a term on the order of 1 /k5 for these elements. We further derive the adiabatic relation and the energy functional. Our results show that the SOC can induce an additional term in the energy functional, which describes the contribution from the SOC to the total energy. In addition, the form of the adiabatic relation for our system is not modified by the SOC. Our results are applicable for the systems with any type of single-atom trapping potential, which could be either diagonal or nondiagonal in the pseudospin basis.

Bloch oscillations of ultracold atoms and measurement of the fine structure constant; Oscillations de Bloch d'atomes ultrafroids et mesure de la constante de structure fine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Clade, P

2005-10-15

From a measurement of the recoil velocity of an atom absorbing a photon, it is possible to deduce a determination of the ratio h/m between the Planck constant and the mass of the atoms and then to deduce a value of the fine structure constant alpha. To do this measurement, we use the technique of Bloch oscillations, which allows us to transfer a large number of recoils to atoms. A velocity sensor, based on velocity selective Raman transition, enables us to measure the momentum transferred to the atoms. A measurement with a statistical uncertainty of 4.4 10{sup -9}, in conjunction with a careful study of systematic effects (5 10{sup -9}), has led us to a determination of alpha with an uncertainty of 6.7 10{sup -9}: {alpha}{sup -1}(Rb) = 137.03599878 (91). This uncertainty is similar to the uncertainty of the best determinations of alpha based on atom interferometry. (author)

Multimode quantum model of a cw atom laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hope, J.J.; Haine, S.A.; Savage, C.M.

2002-01-01

Full text: Laser cooling allows dilute atomic gases to be cooled to within K of absolute zero. Ultracold gases were first achieved twenty years ago and have since found applications in areas such as spectroscopy, time standards, frequency standards, quantum information processing and atom optics. The atomic analogue of the lasing mode in optical lasers is Bose-Einstein Condensation (BEC), in which a cooled sample of atoms condense into the lowest energy quantum state. This new state of matter was recently achieved in dilute Bose gases in 1995. Atoms coupled out of a BEC exhibit long-range spatial coherence, and provide the coldest atomic source currently available. These atomic sources are called 'atom lasers' because the BEC is analogous to the lasing mode of an optical laser. The high spectral flux from optical lasers is caused by a process called gain-narrowing, which requires continuous wave (cw) operation. Coupling a BEC quickly into an untrapped state forms a coherent atomic beam but it has a spread in momentum as large as the trapped BEC. Coupling the atoms out more slowly reduces the output linewidth at the expense of reducing the overall flux. These atom lasers are equivalent to Q-switched optical lasers. A cw atom laser with gain-narrowing would produce an increasingly monoenergetic output as the flux increased, dramatically improving the spectral flux. A cw atom laser is therefore a major goal of the atom optics community, but there are several theoretical and practical obstacles to understanding the complexities of such a system. The main obstacle to the production of a cw atom laser is the technical difficulties involved in continuously pumping the lasing mode. No complete theory exists which describes a cw atom laser. Complete cw atom laser models require a quantum field description due to their non-Markovian dynamics, significant spatial effects and the dependence of the output on the quantum statistics of the lasing mode. The extreme dimensionality

Analytical results for the time-dependent current density distribution of expanding ultracold gases after a sudden change of the confining potential

Science.gov (United States)

Boumaza, R.; Bencheikh, K.

2017-12-01

Using the so-called operator product expansion to lowest order, we extend the work in Campbell et al (2015 Phys. Rev. Lett 114 125302) by deriving a simple analytical expression for the long-time asymptotic one-body reduced density matrix during free expansion for a one-dimensional system of bosons with large atom number interacting through a repulsive delta potential initially confined by a potential well. This density matrix allows direct access to the momentum distribution and also to the mass current density. For initially confining power-law potentials we give explicit expressions, in the limits of very weak and very strong interaction, for the current density distributions during the free expansion. In the second part of the work we consider the expansion of ultracold gas from a confining harmonic trap to another harmonic trap with a different frequency. For the case of a quantum impenetrable gas of bosons (a Tonks-Girardeau gas) with a given atom number, we present an exact analytical expression for the mass current distribution (mass transport) after release from one harmonic trap to another harmonic trap. It is shown that, for a harmonically quenched Tonks-Girardeau gas, the current distribution is a suitable collective observable and under the weak quench regime, it exhibits oscillations at the same frequencies as those recently predicted for the peak momentum distribution in the breathing mode. The analysis is extended to other possible quenched systems.

Fast pulses and slow atoms: making microKelvin molecules using femtosecond lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Walmsley, Ian

2008-05-01

We discuss a general approach to the formation of ultracold ground state molecules by synthesis from pairs of cold atoms using shaped ultrashort optical pulses. This method combines an effective and widely applicable control technology to the problem of preparing molecules is the ground state of all their degrees of freedom. The broad bandwidth of femtosecond pulses provides and number of options for removing energy from a pair of colliding atoms, and binding them with little or no vibrational energy. We shall give examples of possible strategies, and report on experiments demonstrating photoassocation using coherent control, and measuring wavepacket dynamics by femtosecond pump probe molecular ionization. Prospects for stabilizing the molecules by protecting them from further collisions, and for increasing the range of internuclear separations that can be associated will be pointed out. This work is funded by the UK EPSRC, and has contributions from J. Petrovic, A. Wyatt, A. Dicks, D. McCabe, D. England, M. Friedman, H. Martay, T. Koehler, C. Foot and collaborations with F. Masnou-Seeuws and J. Mur-Petit.

The MCUCN simulation code for ultracold neutron physics

Science.gov (United States)

Zsigmond, G.

2018-02-01

Ultracold neutrons (UCN) have very low kinetic energies 0-300 neV, thereby can be stored in specific material or magnetic confinements for many hundreds of seconds. This makes them a very useful tool in probing fundamental symmetries of nature (for instance charge-parity violation by neutron electric dipole moment experiments) and contributing important parameters for the Big Bang nucleosynthesis (neutron lifetime measurements). Improved precision experiments are in construction at new and planned UCN sources around the world. MC simulations play an important role in the optimization of such systems with a large number of parameters, but also in the estimation of systematic effects, in benchmarking of analysis codes, or as part of the analysis. The MCUCN code written at PSI has been extensively used for the optimization of the UCN source optics and in the optimization and analysis of (test) experiments within the nEDM project based at PSI. In this paper we present the main features of MCUCN and interesting benchmark and application examples.

A proposed method of measuring the electric-dipole moment of the neutron by ultracold neutron interferometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freedman, M.S.; Peshkin, M.; Ringo, G.R.; Dombeck, T.W.

1989-08-01

The use of an ultracold neutron interferometer incorporating an electrostatic accelerator having a strong electric field gradient to accelerate neutrons by their possible electric dipole moment is proposed as a method of measuring the neutron electric dipole moment. The method appears to have the possibility of extending the sensitivity of the measurement by several orders of magnitude, perhaps to 10 -30 e-cm. 9 refs., 3 figs

Levitation of atoms by interference and Two-dimensional transport in the presence of disorder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robert De Saint Vincent, M.

2010-12-01

This thesis presents two experiments of atomic physics, realized on an ultra-cold sample of Rubidium 87. We tackle the topics of atom interferometry, and of the transport properties in disordered medium. In the first experiment, we demonstrate a technique for suspending atoms against gravity, which could help increase the interrogation time of atom interferometers. The atoms are periodically diffracted on a light standing wave, used as Bragg mirror to reflect the atoms and thus prevent their fall. However, when getting close to the thin grating limit, the matter wave-packet is split into many trajectories that periodically recombine. We show that the interference between these multiple components can be used to cancel the losses towards falling channels. This original interferometer could be an interesting alternative to suspend an inertial sensor or an atom clock in a limited volume, whilst allowing simultaneous measurement of the forces acting on the atoms. The second experiment is devoted to the study of the transport properties in a 2-dimensional (2D) disordered medium. In particular, matter wave interference can prevent the transport - a phenomenon known as Anderson Localization. The atoms are confined between two repulsive sheets of light, and the disorder is generated by a speckle pattern shined onto the cloud. We observe a diffusive expansion in these potentials, and extract diffusion coefficients in agreement with a numerical simulation. We then explore the dynamic at lower energies, where sub-diffusion, classical trapping under the percolation threshold, and Anderson Localization may be observed. Finally, the study of the interplay between disorder and the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in 2D is now within reach. (author)

Topological insulators in cold-atom gases with non-Abelian gauge fields: the role of interactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Orth, Peter Philipp [Institut fuer Theorie der Kondensierten Materie, Karlsruher Institut fuer Technologie, 76128 Karlsruhe (Germany); Cocks, Daniel; Buchhold, Michael; Hofstetter, Walter [Institut fuer Theoretische Physik, Goethe Universitaet, 60438 Frankfurt am Main (Germany); Rachel, Stephan [Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520 (United States); Le Hur, Karyn [Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520 (United States); Center for Theoretical Physics, Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau Cedex (France)

2012-07-01

With the recent technological advance of creating (non)-Abelian gauge fields for ultracold atoms in optical lattices, it becomes possible to study the interplay of topological phases and interactions in these systems. Specifically, we consider a spinful and time-reversal invariant version of the Hofstadter problem. In addition, we allow for a hopping term which does not preserve S{sub z} spin symmetry and a staggered sublattice potential. Without interactions, the parameters can be tuned such that the system is a topological insulator. Using a combination of analytical techniques and the powerful real-space dynamical mean-field (R-DMFT) method, we discuss the effect of interactions and determine the interacting phase diagram.

STE-QUEST—test of the universality of free fall using cold atom interferometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aguilera, D N; Braxmaier, C; Ahlers, H; Ertmer, W; Gaaloul, N; Hartwig, J; Battelier, B; Bertoldi, A; Bouyer, P; Bawamia, A; Bondarescu, R; Bongs, K; Cacciapuoti, L; Gehler, M; Chaloner, C; Chwalla, M; Gerardi, D; Franz, M; Gesa, L; Gürlebeck, N

2014-01-01

The theory of general relativity describes macroscopic phenomena driven by the influence of gravity while quantum mechanics brilliantly accounts for microscopic effects. Despite their tremendous individual success, a complete unification of fundamental interactions is missing and remains one of the most challenging and important quests in modern theoretical physics. The spacetime explorer and quantum equivalence principle space test satellite mission, proposed as a medium-size mission within the Cosmic Vision program of the European Space Agency (ESA), aims for testing general relativity with high precision in two experiments by performing a measurement of the gravitational redshift of the Sun and the Moon by comparing terrestrial clocks, and by performing a test of the universality of free fall of matter waves in the gravitational field of Earth comparing the trajectory of two Bose–Einstein condensates of 85 Rb and 87 Rb. The two ultracold atom clouds are monitored very precisely thanks to techniques of atom interferometry. This allows to reach down to an uncertainty in the Eötvös parameter of at least 2 × 10 −15 . In this paper, we report about the results of the phase A mission study of the atom interferometer instrument covering the description of the main payload elements, the atomic source concept, and the systematic error sources. (paper)

Structural and optical properties of annealed and illuminated (Ag3AsS3)0.6(As2S3)0.4 thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Studenyak, I. P.; Neimet, Yu. Yu.; Rati, Y. Y.; Stanko, D.; Kranjčec, M.; Kökényesi, S.; Daróci, L.; Bohdan, R.

2014-11-01

(Ag3AsS3)0.6(As2S3)0.4 thin films were deposited upon a quartz substrate by rapid thermal evaporation. Structural studies of the as-deposited, annealed and illuminated films were performed using XRD, scanning electron and atomic force microscopies. Surfaces of all the films were found to be covered with Ag-rich crystalline micrometer sized cones. Thermal annealing leads to mechanical deformation of part of the cones and their detachment from the base film surface while the laser illumination leads to the new formations appearance on the surface of thin films. The spectroscopic studies of optical transmission spectra for as-deposited, annealed and illuminated thin films were carried out. The optical absorption spectra in the region of its exponential behaviour were analysed, the dispersion dependences of refractive index as well as their variation after annealing and illumination were investigated.

Final Report: Cooling Molecules with Laser Light

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Di Rosa, Michael D.

2012-01-01

Certain diatomic molecules are disposed to laser cooling in the way successfully applied to certain atoms and that ushered in a revolution in ultracold atomic physics, an identification first made at Los Alamos and which took root during this program. Despite their manipulation into numerous achievements, atoms are nonetheless mundane denizens of the quantum world. Molecules, on the other hand, with their internal degrees of freedom and rich dynamical interplay, provide considerably more complexity. Two main goals of this program were to demonstrate the feasibility of laser-cooling molecules to the same temperatures as laser-cooled atoms and introduce a means for collecting laser-cooled molecules into dense ensembles, a foundational start of studies and applications of ultracold matter without equivalence in atomic systems.

Detecting many-body-localization lengths with cold atoms

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Xuefei; Li, Xiaopeng

2018-03-01

Considering ultracold atoms in optical lattices, we propose experimental protocols to study many-body-localization (MBL) length and criticality in quench dynamics. Through numerical simulations with exact diagonalization, we show that in the MBL phase the perturbed density profile following a local quench remains exponentially localized in postquench dynamics. The size of this density profile after long-time-dynamics defines a localization length, which tends to diverge at the MBL-to-ergodic transition as we increase the system size. The determined localization transition point agrees with previous exact diagonalization calculations using other diagnostics. Our numerical results provide evidence for violation of the Harris-Chayes bound for the MBL criticality. The critical exponent ν can be extracted from our proposed dynamical procedure, which can then be used directly in experiments to determine whether the Harris-Chayes-bound holds for the MBL transition. These proposed protocols to detect localization criticality are justified by benchmarking to the well-established results for the noninteracting three-dimensional Anderson localization.

Ultracold bosons in a one-dimensional optical lattice chain: Newton's cradle and Bose enhancement effect

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Ji-Guo; Yang, Shi-Jie, E-mail: yangshijie@tsinghua.org.cn

2017-05-18

We study a model to realize the long-distance correlated tunneling of ultracold bosons in a one-dimensional optical lattice chain. The model reveals the behavior of a quantum Newton's cradle, which is the perfect transfer between two macroscopic quantum states. Due to the Bose enhancement effect, we find that the resonantly tunneling through a Mott domain is greatly enhanced.

Diagnosing Students’ conception on atomic structure using open ended questions

Science.gov (United States)

Fitriza, Z.; Gazali, F.

2018-05-01

This study aims to diagnose students’ conception on atomic structure concepts using open ended questions. For this reason, a 7 items of assay test was administered to 135 senior high school students from different schools in West Sumatera. The data were collected using a an open ended test which is covering the concept used in the topic Atomic Structure. The open ended test of students’ conceptual was developed to identify the alternative conceptions that student might have regarding the concepts in Atomic Structure, to measure the level of students’ conceptions, and the way of students’ thinking concerning the concepts. The results showed that students find difficulties about some concepts of Atomic structure such as atom, atomic model, electron configuration, period and group.The result of this study illuminated the concepts to be underlined in developing teaching and learning approach concerning the topic of Atomic Structure.

Real-time global illumination on mobile device

Science.gov (United States)

Ahn, Minsu; Ha, Inwoo; Lee, Hyong-Euk; Kim, James D. K.

2014-02-01

We propose a novel method for real-time global illumination on mobile devices. Our approach is based on instant radiosity, which uses a sequence of virtual point lights in order to represent the e ect of indirect illumination. Our rendering process consists of three stages. With the primary light, the rst stage generates a local illumination with the shadow map on GPU The second stage of the global illumination uses the re ective shadow map on GPU and generates the sequence of virtual point lights on CPU. Finally, we use the splatting method of Dachsbacher et al 1 and add the indirect illumination to the local illumination on GPU. With the limited computing resources in mobile devices, a small number of virtual point lights are allowed for real-time rendering. Our approach uses the multi-resolution sampling method with 3D geometry and attributes simultaneously and reduce the total number of virtual point lights. We also use the hybrid strategy, which collaboratively combines the CPUs and GPUs available in a mobile SoC due to the limited computing resources in mobile devices. Experimental results demonstrate the global illumination performance of the proposed method.

Resonance fluorescence and quantum jumps in single atoms: Testing the randomness of quantum mechanics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erber, T.; Hammerling, P.; Hockney, G.; Porrati, M.; Putterman, S.; La Jolla Institute, La Jolla, California 92037; Department of Physics, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90024)

1989-01-01

When a single trapped 198 Hg + ion is illuminated by two lasers, each tuned to an approximate transition, the resulting fluorescence switches on and off in a series of pulses resembling a bistable telegraph. This intermittent fluorescence can also be obtained by optical pumping with a single laser. Quantum jumps between successive atomic levels may be traced directly with multiple-resonance fluorescence. Atomic transition rates and photon antibunching distributions can be inferred from the pulse statistics and compared with quantum theory. Stochastic tests also indicate that the quantum telegraphs are good random number generators. During periods when the fluorescence is switched off, the radiationless atomic currents that generate the telegraph signals can be adjusted by varying the laser illumination: if this coherent evolution of the wave functions is sustained over sufficiently long time intervals, novel interactive precision measurements, near the limits of the time-energy uncertainty relations, are possible. Copyright 1989 Academic Press, Inc

Active illumination and appearance model for face alignment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kahraman, Fatih; Gokmen, M.; Darkner, Sune

2010-01-01

Illumination conditions have an explicit effect on the performance of face recognition systems. In particular, varying the illumination upon the face imposes such, complex effects that the identification often fails to provide a stable performance level. In this paper, we propose an approach......, integrating face identity and illumination models in order to reach acceptable and stable face recognition rates. For this purpose, Active Appearance Model (A AM) and illumination model of faces are combined in order to obtain an illumination invariant face localization. The proposed method is an integrated......, is sufficient. There is no need to build complex models for illumination. As a result, this paper has presented a simple and efficient method for face modeling and face alignment in order to increase the performance of face localization by means of the proposed illumination invariant AIA method for face...

The Phase-Space Transformer Instrument (PASTIS) and the Phase-Space Transformation on Ultra-Cold Neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henggeler, W.; Boehm, M.

2003-11-01

Both reports - part I by Wolfgang Henggeler and part II by Martin Boehm - serve as a comprehensive basis for the realisation of a PST (phase-space transformation) instrument coupled either to cold or ultra-cold neutrons, respectively. This publication accidentally coincides with the 200 th birthday of the Austrian physicist C.A. Doppler who discovered the principle (i.e., the effect denoted later by his name) giving rise to the phase-space transformation described in the present work. (author)

Surface roughness effect on ultracold neutron interaction with a wall and implications for computer simulations

OpenAIRE

Steyerl, A.; Malik, S. S.; Desai, A. M.; Kaufman, C.

2009-01-01

We review the diffuse scattering and the loss coefficient in ultracold neutron reflection from slightly rough surfaces, report a surprising reduction in loss coefficient due to roughness, and discuss the possibility of transition from quantum treatment to ray optics. The results are used in a computer simulation of neutron storage in a recent neutron lifetime experiment that re-ported a large discrepancy of neutron lifetime with the current particle data value. Our partial re-analysis suggest...

Simultaneous differential spinning disk fluorescence optical sectioning microscopy and nanomechanical mapping atomic force microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miranda, Adelaide; De Beule, Pieter A. A.; Martins, Marco

2015-01-01

Combined microscopy techniques offer the life science research community a powerful tool to investigate complex biological systems and their interactions. Here, we present a new combined microscopy platform based on fluorescence optical sectioning microscopy through aperture correlation microscopy with a Differential Spinning Disk (DSD) and nanomechanical mapping with an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). The illumination scheme of the DSD microscope unit, contrary to standard single or multi-point confocal microscopes, provides a time-independent illumination of the AFM cantilever. This enables a distortion-free simultaneous operation of fluorescence optical sectioning microscopy and atomic force microscopy with standard probes. In this context, we discuss sample heating due to AFM cantilever illumination with fluorescence excitation light. Integration of a DSD fluorescence optical sectioning unit with an AFM platform requires mitigation of mechanical noise transfer of the spinning disk. We identify and present two solutions to almost annul this noise in the AFM measurement process. The new combined microscopy platform is applied to the characterization of a DOPC/DOPS (4:1) lipid structures labelled with a lipophilic cationic indocarbocyanine dye deposited on a mica substrate

Simultaneous differential spinning disk fluorescence optical sectioning microscopy and nanomechanical mapping atomic force microscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miranda, Adelaide; De Beule, Pieter A. A., E-mail: pieter.de-beule@inl.int [Applied Nano-Optics Laboratory, International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Avenida Mestre José Veiga, s/n, 4715-330 Braga (Portugal); Martins, Marco [Nano-ICs Group, International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Avenida Mestre José Veiga, s/n, 4715-330 Braga (Portugal)

2015-09-15

Combined microscopy techniques offer the life science research community a powerful tool to investigate complex biological systems and their interactions. Here, we present a new combined microscopy platform based on fluorescence optical sectioning microscopy through aperture correlation microscopy with a Differential Spinning Disk (DSD) and nanomechanical mapping with an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). The illumination scheme of the DSD microscope unit, contrary to standard single or multi-point confocal microscopes, provides a time-independent illumination of the AFM cantilever. This enables a distortion-free simultaneous operation of fluorescence optical sectioning microscopy and atomic force microscopy with standard probes. In this context, we discuss sample heating due to AFM cantilever illumination with fluorescence excitation light. Integration of a DSD fluorescence optical sectioning unit with an AFM platform requires mitigation of mechanical noise transfer of the spinning disk. We identify and present two solutions to almost annul this noise in the AFM measurement process. The new combined microscopy platform is applied to the characterization of a DOPC/DOPS (4:1) lipid structures labelled with a lipophilic cationic indocarbocyanine dye deposited on a mica substrate.

Instability of Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov states in atomic Fermi gases in three and two dimensions

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jibiao; Che, Yanming; Zhang, Leifeng; Chen, Qijin

2018-04-01

The exotic Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) states have been actively searched for experimentally since the mean-field based FFLO theories were put forward half a century ago. Here, we investigate the stability of FFLO states in the presence of pairing fluctuations. We conclude that FFLO superfluids cannot exist in continuum in three and two dimensions, due to their intrinsic instability, associated with infinite quantum degeneracy of the pairs. These results address the absence of convincing experimental observations of FFLO phases in both condensed matter and in ultracold atomic Fermi gases with a population imbalance. We predict that the true ground state has a pair momentum distribution highly peaked on an entire constant energy surface.

American Illuminations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nye, David

Illuminated fêtes and civic celebrations began in Renaissance Italy and spread through the courts of Europe. Their fireworks, torches, lamps, and special effects glorified the monarch, marked the birth of a prince, or celebrated military victory. Nineteenth-century Americans rejected such monarch...

Statistics of work and orthogonality catastrophe in discrete level systems: an application to fullerene molecules and ultra-cold trapped Fermi gases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonello Sindona

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The sudden introduction of a local impurity in a Fermi sea leads to an anomalous disturbance of its quantum state that represents a local quench, leaving the system out of equilibrium and giving rise to the Anderson orthogonality catastrophe. The statistics of the work done describe the energy fluctuations produced by the quench, providing an accurate and detailed insight into the fundamental physics of the process. We present here a numerical approach to the non-equilibrium work distribution, supported by applications to phenomena occurring at very diverse energy ranges. One of them is the valence electron shake-up induced by photo-ionization of a core state in a fullerene molecule. The other is the response of an ultra-cold gas of trapped fermions to an embedded two-level atom excited by a fast pulse. Working at low thermal energies, we detect the primary role played by many-particle states of the perturbed system with one or two excited fermions. We validate our approach through the comparison with some photoemission data on fullerene films and previous analytical calculations on harmonically trapped Fermi gases.

Anode catalysts for direct ethanol fuel cells utilizing directly solar light illumination.

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Daobao; Wang, Shuxi; Zheng, Peng; Wang, Jian; Zha, Longwu; Hou, Yuanyuan; He, Jianguo; Xiao, Ying; Lin, Huashui; Tian, Zhaowu

2009-01-01

Shine a light: A PtNiRu/TiO(2) anode catalyst for direct ethanol fuel cells shows photocatalytic activity. The peak current density for ethanol oxidation under solar light illumination is 2-3 times greater than that in the absence of solar light. Ethanol is oxidized by light-generated holes, and the electrons are collected by the TiO(2) support to generate the oxidation current.Novel PtNiRu/TiO(2) anode catalysts for direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs) were prepared from PtNiRu nanoparticles (1:1:1 atomic ratios) and a nanoporous TiO(2) film by a sol-gel and electrodeposition method. The performances of the catalysts for ethanol oxidation were investigated by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results indicate a remarkable enhancement of activity for ethanol oxidation under solar light illumination. Under solar light illumination, the generated oxidation peak current density is 24.6 mA cm(-2), which is about 2.5 times higher than that observed without solar light (9.9 mA cm(-2)). The high catalytic activity of the PtNiRu/TiO(2) complex catalyst for the electrooxidation of ethanol may be attributed to the modified metal/nanoporous TiO(2) film, and the enhanced electrooxidation of ethanol under solar light may be due to the photogeneration of holes in the modified nanoporous TiO(2) film.

Catalyzed reactions at illuminated semiconductor interfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wrighton, M.S.

1984-01-01

Many desirable minority carrier chemical redox processes are too slow to compete with e - -h + recombination at illuminated semiconductor/liquid electrolyte junction interfaces. Reductions of H 2 O to H 2 or CO 2 to compounds having C--H bonds are too slow to compete with e - -h + recombination at illuminated p-type semiconductors, for example. Approaches to improve the rate of the desired processes involving surface modification techniques are described. Photoanodes are plagued by the additional problem of oxidative decomposition under illumination with > or =E/sub g/ illumination. The photo-oxidation of Cl - , Br - , and H 2 O is considered to illustrate the concepts involved. Proof of concept experiments establish that catalysis can be effective in dramatically improving direct solar fuel production; efficiencies of >10% have been demonstrated

Illuminance: Computerized simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barlow, A

1991-03-01

One of the main objectives of a graphics work-station is to create images that are as realistic as possible. This paper reviews and assesses the state-of-the-art in the field of illuminance simulation. The techniques examined are: ray tracing, in which illuminance in a given ambient is calculated in an approximate way by tracing individual rays of light; the 'radiosity' (a term combining surface radiancy and reflectivity) method, based on the calculation of the ambient's thermodynamics and which considers the effects of different surface colours; progressive improvement, in which 'radiosity' is calculated step by step with increasing levels of detail. The Gouraud and Phong methods of representing the effects of shade are also compared.

Exotic pairing in 1D spin-3/2 atomic gases with SO(4 symmetry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuzhu Jiang

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Tuning interactions in the spin singlet and quintet channels of two colliding atoms could change the symmetry of the one-dimensional spin-3/2 fermionic systems of ultracold atoms while preserving the integrability. Here we find a novel SO(4 symmetry integrable point in the spin-3/2 Fermi gas and derive the exact solution of the model using the Bethe ansatz. In contrast to the model with SU(4 and SO(5 symmetries, the present model with SO(4 symmetry preserves spin singlet and quintet Cooper pairs in two sets of SU(2⊗SU(2 spin subspaces. We obtain full phase diagrams, including the Fulde–Ferrel–Larkin–Ovchinnikov like pair correlations, spin excitations and quantum criticality through the generalized Yang–Yang thermodynamic equations. In particular, various correlation functions are calculated by using finite-size corrections in the frame work of conformal field theory. Moreover, within the local density approximation, we further find that spin singlet and quintet pairs form subtle multiple shell structures in density profiles of the trapped gas.

Development of flying spot illumination system for stage lighting

Science.gov (United States)

Asakawa, Hisashi; Ishii, Katsunori; Koshiro, Hikari; Baba, Junko; Wakaki, Moriaki

2014-02-01

The system to control the area of illumination is important for the luminaires used for stages and TV studios. Presently the methods to change the distance between a lamp and lenses, or to use a zooming projection of the aperture illuminated by the lamp are used to control the area. However, these methods require many optical components or mechanical components. Moreover, the energy of the light source is partially consumed by the absorption of the shutter on adjusting the illumination area. On the other hand, the control of the illuminance over the illuminated area is not possible by the methods. In this study, we developed the lighting system which enables to control both the illuminated area and the illuminance distribution within the area by scanning the beam from a LED array light source. The area of illumination was expanded along one dimension by scanning the LED beam using a rotating polygon mirror. The selection of the illuminated width and the control of the illuminance distribution were achieved by synchronizing the pulse width modulation (PWM) control of the LED with the rotation of the mirror using a time sharing control. As a result, various illuminance distributions can be realized at real time by using software control for the luminaire. The developed system has the merits of compact and high efficiency.

Negative-Mass Instability of the Spin and Motion of an Atomic Gas Driven by Optical Cavity Backaction

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Jonathan; Gerber, Justin A.; Dowd, Emma; Stamper-Kurn, Dan M.

2018-01-01

We realize a spin-orbit interaction between the collective spin precession and center-of-mass motion of a trapped ultracold atomic gas, mediated by spin- and position-dependent dispersive coupling to a driven optical cavity. The collective spin, precessing near its highest-energy state in an applied magnetic field, can be approximated as a negative-mass harmonic oscillator. When the Larmor precession and mechanical motion are nearly resonant, cavity mediated coupling leads to a negative-mass instability, driving exponential growth of a correlated mode of the hybrid system. We observe this growth imprinted on modulations of the cavity field and estimate the full covariance of the resulting two-mode state by observing its transient decay during subsequent free evolution.

Illumination correction in psoriasis lesions images

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Maletti, Gabriela Mariel; Ersbøll, Bjarne Kjær

2003-01-01

An approach to automatically correct illumination problems in dermatological images is presented. The illumination function is estimated after combining the thematic map indicating skin-produced by an automated classification scheme- with the dermatological image data. The user is only required t...

AN ILLUMINATION INVARIANT TEXTURE BASED FACE RECOGNITION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Meena

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Automatic face recognition remains an interesting but challenging computer vision open problem. Poor illumination is considered as one of the major issue, since illumination changes cause large variation in the facial features. To resolve this, illumination normalization preprocessing techniques are employed in this paper to enhance the face recognition rate. The methods such as Histogram Equalization (HE, Gamma Intensity Correction (GIC, Normalization chain and Modified Homomorphic Filtering (MHF are used for preprocessing. Owing to great success, the texture features are commonly used for face recognition. But these features are severely affected by lighting changes. Hence texture based models Local Binary Pattern (LBP, Local Derivative Pattern (LDP, Local Texture Pattern (LTP and Local Tetra Patterns (LTrPs are experimented under different lighting conditions. In this paper, illumination invariant face recognition technique is developed based on the fusion of illumination preprocessing with local texture descriptors. The performance has been evaluated using YALE B and CMU-PIE databases containing more than 1500 images. The results demonstrate that MHF based normalization gives significant improvement in recognition rate for the face images with large illumination conditions.

Conversion of a Degenerate Fermi Gas of 6Li Atoms to a Molecular BEC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strecker, K.E.; Partridge, G.B.; Kamar, R.I.; Jack, M.W.; Hulet, R.G.

2005-01-01

Atomic Feshbach resonances have recently been used to produce a strongly interacting Fermi gas, where the BCS/BEC crossover can be explored. We have used both narrow and broad Feshbach resonances to convert a quantum degenerate Fermi gas of 6Li atoms into an ultracold gas of Li2 molecules. For the narrow resonances, the molecules are formed by coherent adiabatic passage through the resonance. We find that 50% of the atoms are converted to molecules. Furthermore, the lifetime of these molecules was measured to be surprisingly long, 1 s. We will discuss these measurements in the context of the present theoretical understanding. Molecules can also be formed using static fields near the broad Feshbach resonance. The lifetime of these molecules is again long, and sufficient to enable their evaporation to a Bose-Einstein condensate. Phase contrast images of the molecular condensate are presented. The BCS/BEC crossover may be explored by starting with a pure molecular condensate on the low-field side of the Feshbach resonance, and adiabatically changing the field to any final value around resonance. We combine this ability with optical spectroscopy on a bound-bound molecular transition to probe the nature of the many-body wavefunction in the crossover regime

Cooling atoms with extraresonant stimulated emission below the Doppler limit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shevy, Y.

1989-01-01

The process of cooling atoms with radiation pressure is well understood in terms of absorption and spontaneous emission of fluorescence photons. This process imposes a lower limit on the minimum equilibrium temperature of laser cooled two level atoms of K b T = ℎΓ 21 /2 (the Doppler limit), where Γ 21 is the excited state decay rate to the ground state. At high laser intensity, it has been demonstrated that the stimulated emission process changes the sign of the force to a heating force at the red side of the atomic resonance and to a cooling force at blue detunings. Although this stimulated force is more efficient than the radiation pressure force, it has been generally accepted that this force cannot lead to lower equilibrium temperatures due to the large heating caused by diffusion of momentum at high intensity. These conclusions are valid only when the sole damping mechanism is the excited state decay to the ground state by spontaneous emission. However, when the atomic system is opened, i.e., is allowed to decay to other levels, or the dipole decay rate is altered by dephasing events, the stimulated force is dramatically modified. Under this conditions the stimulated force can occur at lower laser intensity and can even reverse sign to provide damping at the red side of resonance. These phenomena originate from extraresonances in the stimulated emission process between the two counterpropagating waves. These resonances appear as a dispersive feature in pump probe spectra (Two Wave Mixing) and are closely related to the extraresonances in four wave mixing studied originally by Bloembergen and co-workers. This paper establishes this connection and the potential of these phenomena for laser cooling. The implications of these results to the recently observed ultra-cold Na and Cs atoms are also discussed

Exotic superfluidity and pairing phenomena in atomic Fermi gases in mixed dimensions.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Leifeng; Che, Yanming; Wang, Jibiao; Chen, Qijin

2017-10-11

Atomic Fermi gases have been an ideal platform for simulating conventional and engineering exotic physical systems owing to their multiple tunable control parameters. Here we investigate the effects of mixed dimensionality on the superfluid and pairing phenomena of a two-component ultracold atomic Fermi gas with a short-range pairing interaction, while one component is confined on a one-dimensional (1D) optical lattice whereas the other is in a homogeneous 3D continuum. We study the phase diagram and the pseudogap phenomena throughout the entire BCS-BEC crossover, using a pairing fluctuation theory. We find that the effective dimensionality of the non-interacting lattice component can evolve from quasi-3D to quasi-1D, leading to strong Fermi surface mismatch. Upon pairing, the system becomes effectively quasi-two dimensional in the BEC regime. The behavior of T c bears similarity to that of a regular 3D population imbalanced Fermi gas, but with a more drastic departure from the regular 3D balanced case, featuring both intermediate temperature superfluidity and possible pair density wave ground state. Unlike a simple 1D optical lattice case, T c in the mixed dimensions has a constant BEC asymptote.

Surface roughness effect on ultracold neutron interaction with a wall and implications for computer simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steyerl, A.; Malik, S. S.; Desai, A. M.; Kaufman, C.

2010-01-01

We review the diffuse scattering and the loss coefficient in ultracold neutron reflection from slightly rough surfaces, report a surprising reduction in loss coefficient due to roughness, and discuss the possibility of transition from quantum treatment to ray optics. The results are used in a computer simulation of neutron storage in a recent neutron lifetime experiment that reported a large discrepancy of neutron lifetime with the current particle data value. Our partial reanalysis suggests the possibility of systematic effects that were not included in this publication.

Illumination dependence of I-V and C-V characterization of Au/InSb/InP(1 0 0) Schottky structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akkal, B.; Benamara, Z.; Bouiadjra, N. Bachir; Tizi, S.; Gruzza, B.

2006-01-01

The effects of surface preparation and illumination on electric parameters of Au/InSb/InP(100) Schottky diode were investigated, in the later diode InSb forms a fine restructuration layer allowing to block In atoms migration to surface. In order to study the electric characteristics under illumination, we make use of an He-Ne laser of 1 mW power and 632.8 nm wavelength. The current-voltage I(V G ), the capacitance-voltage C(V G ) measurements were plotted and analysed. The saturation current I s , the serial resistance R s and the mean ideality factor n are, respectively, equal to 2.03 x 10 -5 A, 85 Ω, 1.7 under dark and to 3.97 x 10 -5 A, 67 Ω, 1.59 under illumination. The analysis of I(V G ) and C(V G ) characteristics allows us to determine the mean interfacial state density N ss and the transmission coefficient θ n equal, respectively, to 4.33 x 10 12 eV -1 cm -2 , 4.08 x 10 -3 under dark and 3.79 x 10 12 eV -1 cm -2 and 5.65 x 10 -3 under illumination. The deep discrete donor levels presence in the semiconductor bulk under dark and under illumination are responsible for the non-linearity of the C -2 (V G ) characteristic

Anisotropic Density Estimation in Global Illumination

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schjøth, Lars

2009-01-01

Density estimation employed in multi-pass global illumination algorithms gives cause to a trade-off problem between bias and noise. The problem is seen most evident as blurring of strong illumination features. This thesis addresses the problem, presenting four methods that reduce both noise...

Optics and molecules on atom chips

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tscherneck, M; Holmes, M E; Quinto-Su, P A; Haimberger, C; Kleinert, J; Bigelow, N P

2005-01-01

In this paper we will report on four experiments which have been carried out in the last year in our group. All of these experiments are necessary steps towards the trapping and probing of ultracold molecules on a chip surface

Velocity-dependent quantum phase slips in 1D atomic superfluids.

Science.gov (United States)

Tanzi, Luca; Scaffidi Abbate, Simona; Cataldini, Federica; Gori, Lorenzo; Lucioni, Eleonora; Inguscio, Massimo; Modugno, Giovanni; D'Errico, Chiara

2016-05-18

Quantum phase slips are the primary excitations in one-dimensional superfluids and superconductors at low temperatures but their existence in ultracold quantum gases has not been demonstrated yet. We now study experimentally the nucleation rate of phase slips in one-dimensional superfluids realized with ultracold quantum gases, flowing along a periodic potential. We observe a crossover between a regime of temperature-dependent dissipation at small velocity and interaction and a second regime of velocity-dependent dissipation at larger velocity and interaction. This behavior is consistent with the predicted crossover from thermally-assisted quantum phase slips to purely quantum phase slips.

Real time global illumination using the GPU

OpenAIRE

Bengtsson, Morgan

2010-01-01

Global illumination is an important factor when striving for photo realism in computergraphics. This thesis describes why this is the case, and why global illumination is considered acomplex problem to solve. The problem becomes even more demanding when considering realtime purposes. Resent research has proven it possible to produce global illumination in realtime. Therefore the subject of this thesis is to compare and evaluate a number of those methods. An implementation is presented based o...

Ultracold Anions for High-Precision Antihydrogen Experiments.

Science.gov (United States)

Cerchiari, G; Kellerbauer, A; Safronova, M S; Safronova, U I; Yzombard, P

2018-03-30

Experiments with antihydrogen (H[over ¯]) for a study of matter-antimatter symmetry and antimatter gravity require ultracold H[over ¯] to reach ultimate precision. A promising path towards antiatoms much colder than a few kelvin involves the precooling of antiprotons by laser-cooled anions. Because of the weak binding of the valence electron in anions-dominated by polarization and correlation effects-only few candidate systems with suitable transitions exist. We report on a combination of experimental and theoretical studies to fully determine the relevant binding energies, transition rates, and branching ratios of the most promising candidate La^{-}. Using combined transverse and collinear laser spectroscopy, we determined the resonant frequency of the laser cooling transition to be ν=96.592 713(91)  THz and its transition rate to be A=4.90(50)×10^{4}  s^{-1}. Using a novel high-precision theoretical treatment of La^{-} we calculated yet unmeasured energy levels, transition rates, branching ratios, and lifetimes to complement experimental information on the laser cooling cycle of La^{-}. The new data establish the suitability of La^{-} for laser cooling and show that the cooling transition is significantly stronger than suggested by a previous theoretical study.

Tailored reflectors for illumination.

Science.gov (United States)

Jenkins, D; Winston, R

1996-04-01

We report on tailored reflector design methods that allow the placement of general illumination patterns onto a target plane. The use of a new integral design method based on the edge-ray principle of nonimaging optics gives much more compact reflector shapes by eliminating the need for a gap between the source and the reflector profile. In addition, the reflectivity of the reflector is incorporated as a design parameter. We show the performance of design for constant irradiance on a distant plane, and we show how a leading-edge-ray method may be used to achieve general illumination patterns on nearby targets.

Illumination and Voltage Dependence of Electrical Characteristics of Au/0.03 Graphene-Doped PVA/n-Si Structures via Capacitance/Conductance-Voltage Measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sahar, Alialy; Şlemsettin, Altındal; Ahmet, Kaya; İ, Uslu

2015-01-01

Au/n-Si (MS) structures with a high dielectric interlayer (0.03 graphene-doped PVA) are fabricated to investigate the illumination and voltage effects on electrical and dielectric properties by using capacitance-voltage (C-V) and conductance-voltage (G/ω-V) measurements at room temperature and at 1 MHz. Some of the main electrical parameters such as concentration of doping atoms (N D ), barrier height (ϕ B (C - V)), depletion layer width (W D ) and series resistance (R s ) show fairly large illumination dispersion. The voltage-dependent profile of surface states (N ss ) and resistance of the structure (R i ) are also obtained by using the dark-illumination capacitance (C dark -C ill ) and Nicollian-Brews methods, respectively. For a clear observation of changes in electrical parameters with illumination, the values of N D , W D , ϕ B (C - V) and R s are drawn as a function of illumination intensity. The values of N D and W D change almost linearly with illumination intensity. On the other hand, R s decreases almost exponentially with increasing illumination intensity whereas ϕ B (C - V) increases. The experimental results suggest that the use of a high dielectric interlayer (0.03 graphene-doped PVA) considerably passivates or reduces the magnitude of the surface states. The large change or dispersion in main electrical parameters can be attributed to generation of electron-hole pairs in the junction under illumination and to a good light absorption. All of these experimental results confirm that the fabricated Au/0.03 graphene-doped PVA/n-Si structure can be used as a photodiode or a capacitor in optoelectronic applications. (paper)

Quantized Ultracold Neutrons in Rough Waveguides: GRANIT Experiments and Beyond

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Escobar

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We apply our general theory of transport in systems with random rough boundaries to gravitationally quantized ultracold neutrons in rough waveguides as in GRANIT experiments (ILL, Grenoble. We consider waveguides with roughness in both two and one dimensions (2D and 1D. In the biased diffusion approximation the depletion times for the gravitational quantum states can be easily expressed via each other irrespective of the system parameters. The calculation of the exit neutron count reduces to evaluation of a single constant which contains a complicated integral of the correlation function of surface roughness. In the case of 1D roughness (random grating this constant is calculated analytically for common types of the correlation functions. The results obey simple scaling relations which are slightly different in 1D and 2D. We predict the exit neutron count for the new GRANIT cell.

Optimal thickness of a monocrystal line object in atomic plane visualization on its image in a high-resolution electron microscope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grishina, T.A.; Sviridova, V.Yu.

1983-01-01

Theoretical and experimental investigation of the influence of the FCC-lattice crystal (gold, nickel) thickness on conditions of visulization of atomic plane projections (APP) on the crystal image in a transmission high-resolution electron microscope (THREM) is reported. Results of electron diffraction theory are used for theoretical investigation. Calculation analysis of the influence of the monocrystal thickness and orientation on conitions of visualization of APP and atomic columns in monocrystal images formed in THREM in multibeam regimes with inclined and axial illumination is conducted. It is shown that, to visualize the atomic column projections in a crystal image formed in the multibeam regime with axial illumination, optimal are the thicknesses from 0.1 xisub(min) to 0.25 xisub(min) and at some object orientations also the thicknesses from 0.8 xisub(min) to 0.9 xisub(min), where xisub(min) is the extinction length minimum for the given orientation. It is shown that, to realize the ultimate resolutions in multibeam regimes both with inclined and axial illumination the optimal thickness of the object is 0.63 xisub(min). Satisfactory coincidence of theoretical and experimental data is obtained

Spiritual Art: A Study of Illuminated Drawings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fatemeh Kateb

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Illumination can be seen as a collection of exquisite and novel designs that painters and illumination-workers use to make religious, scientific, cultural, historical, and other collections of work beautiful. The professionals of illumination use these techniques in books to beautifully virtualize the golden pages of the eternal literature and the religious texts of their homeland. In this way, the sides and margins of the pages are decorated with designs of Islimi (arabesque branches, stems, flowers, and Cathay (Khataei leaves. Illuminations like paintings have various schools and periods, such as the Seljuk, Bukhara, Timurid, Safavid, Qajar schools, with further branches within each school. The illuminations of different periods represent the states and spirits of those eras. However, the illustrated paintings have been performed in the primary state in each school and era with some minor differences in colors and designs, and it can be said that the basis of the illustrated designs are three geometric shapes of the square, circle and triangle, and the combination of these three shapes. In this article, we try to study illumination drawings in terms of the spiritual dimension and its effect on the soul and psych. Furthermore; we will study the spiritual nature of the motifs in order to achieve a deeper understanding of the spirit of Islamic art.

Tolerancing a lens for LED uniform illumination

Science.gov (United States)

Ryu, Jieun; Sasian, Jose

2017-08-01

A method to evaluate tolerance sensitivities for lenses used to produce uniform illumination is presented. Closed form surfaces are used to define optical surfaces and relative illumination is calculated from light etendue considerations.

Open LED Illuminator: A Simple and Inexpensive LED Illuminator for Fast Multicolor Particle Tracking in Neurons

Science.gov (United States)

Bosse, Jens B.; Tanneti, Nikhila S.; Hogue, Ian B.; Enquist, Lynn W.

2015-01-01

Dual-color live cell fluorescence microscopy of fast intracellular trafficking processes, such as axonal transport, requires rapid switching of illumination channels. Typical broad-spectrum sources necessitate the use of mechanical filter switching, which introduces delays between acquisition of different fluorescence channels, impeding the interpretation and quantification of highly dynamic processes. Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), however, allow modulation of excitation light in microseconds. Here we provide a step-by-step protocol to enable any scientist to build a research-grade LED illuminator for live cell microscopy, even without prior experience with electronics or optics. We quantify and compare components, discuss our design considerations, and demonstrate the performance of our LED illuminator by imaging axonal transport of herpes virus particles with high temporal resolution. PMID:26600461

Open LED Illuminator: A Simple and Inexpensive LED Illuminator for Fast Multicolor Particle Tracking in Neurons.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jens B Bosse

Full Text Available Dual-color live cell fluorescence microscopy of fast intracellular trafficking processes, such as axonal transport, requires rapid switching of illumination channels. Typical broad-spectrum sources necessitate the use of mechanical filter switching, which introduces delays between acquisition of different fluorescence channels, impeding the interpretation and quantification of highly dynamic processes. Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs, however, allow modulation of excitation light in microseconds. Here we provide a step-by-step protocol to enable any scientist to build a research-grade LED illuminator for live cell microscopy, even without prior experience with electronics or optics. We quantify and compare components, discuss our design considerations, and demonstrate the performance of our LED illuminator by imaging axonal transport of herpes virus particles with high temporal resolution.

Nonimaging optical illumination system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Winston, R.; Ries, H.

2000-02-01

A nonimaging illumination optical device for producing a selected far field illuminance over an angular range. The optical device includes a light source, a light reflecting surface, and a family of light edge rays defined along a reference line with the reflecting surface defined in terms of the reference line 104 as a parametric function R(t) where t is a scalar parameter position and R(t) = k(t) + Du(t) where k(t) is a parameterization of the reference line 104, and D is a distance from a point on the reference line 104 to the reflection surface 108 along the desired edge ray through the point.

Tip-enhanced Raman mapping with top-illumination AFM.

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, K L Andrew; Kazarian, Sergei G

2011-04-29

Tip-enhanced Raman mapping is a powerful, emerging technique that offers rich chemical information and high spatial resolution. Currently, most of the successes in tip-enhanced Raman scattering (TERS) measurements are based on the inverted configuration where tips and laser are approaching the sample from opposite sides. This results in the limitation of measurement for transparent samples only. Several approaches have been developed to obtain tip-enhanced Raman mapping in reflection mode, many of which involve certain customisations of the system. We have demonstrated in this work that it is also possible to obtain TERS nano-images using an upright microscope (top-illumination) with a gold-coated Si atomic force microscope (AFM) cantilever without significant modification to the existing integrated AFM/Raman system. A TERS image of a single-walled carbon nanotube has been achieved with a spatial resolution of ∼ 20-50 nm, demonstrating the potential of this technique for studying non-transparent nanoscale materials.

Tip-enhanced Raman mapping with top-illumination AFM

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chan, K L Andrew; Kazarian, Sergei G, E-mail: s.kazarian@imperial.ac.uk [Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom)

2011-04-29

Tip-enhanced Raman mapping is a powerful, emerging technique that offers rich chemical information and high spatial resolution. Currently, most of the successes in tip-enhanced Raman scattering (TERS) measurements are based on the inverted configuration where tips and laser are approaching the sample from opposite sides. This results in the limitation of measurement for transparent samples only. Several approaches have been developed to obtain tip-enhanced Raman mapping in reflection mode, many of which involve certain customisations of the system. We have demonstrated in this work that it is also possible to obtain TERS nano-images using an upright microscope (top-illumination) with a gold-coated Si atomic force microscope (AFM) cantilever without significant modification to the existing integrated AFM/Raman system. A TERS image of a single-walled carbon nanotube has been achieved with a spatial resolution of {approx} 20-50 nm, demonstrating the potential of this technique for studying non-transparent nanoscale materials.

Tip-enhanced Raman mapping with top-illumination AFM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chan, K L Andrew; Kazarian, Sergei G

2011-01-01

Tip-enhanced Raman mapping is a powerful, emerging technique that offers rich chemical information and high spatial resolution. Currently, most of the successes in tip-enhanced Raman scattering (TERS) measurements are based on the inverted configuration where tips and laser are approaching the sample from opposite sides. This results in the limitation of measurement for transparent samples only. Several approaches have been developed to obtain tip-enhanced Raman mapping in reflection mode, many of which involve certain customisations of the system. We have demonstrated in this work that it is also possible to obtain TERS nano-images using an upright microscope (top-illumination) with a gold-coated Si atomic force microscope (AFM) cantilever without significant modification to the existing integrated AFM/Raman system. A TERS image of a single-walled carbon nanotube has been achieved with a spatial resolution of ∼ 20-50 nm, demonstrating the potential of this technique for studying non-transparent nanoscale materials.

Analysis of image plane's Illumination in Image-forming System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duan Lihua; Zeng Yan'an; Zhang Nanyangsheng; Wang Zhiguo; Yin Shiliang

2011-01-01

In the detection of optical radiation, the detecting accuracy is affected by optic power distribution of the detector's surface to a large extent. In addition, in the image-forming system, the quality of the image is greatly determined by the uniformity of the image's illumination distribution. However, in the practical optical system, affected by the factors such as field of view, false light and off axis and so on, the distribution of the image's illumination tends to be non uniform, so it is necessary to discuss the image plane's illumination in image-forming systems. In order to analyze the characteristics of the image-forming system at a full range, on the basis of photometry, the formulas to calculate the illumination of the imaging plane have been summarized by the numbers. Moreover, the relationship between the horizontal offset of the light source and the illumination of the image has been discussed in detail. After that, the influence of some key factors such as aperture angle, off-axis distance and horizontal offset on illumination of the image has been brought forward. Through numerical simulation, various theoretical curves of those key factors have been given. The results of the numerical simulation show that it is recommended to aggrandize the diameter of the exit pupil to increase the illumination of the image. The angle of view plays a negative role in the illumination distribution of the image, that is, the uniformity of the illumination distribution can be enhanced by compressing the angle of view. Lastly, it is proved that telecentric optical design is an effective way to advance the uniformity of the illumination distribution.

Molecules cooled below the Doppler limit

Science.gov (United States)

Truppe, S.; Williams, H. J.; Hambach, M.; Caldwell, L.; Fitch, N. J.; Hinds, E. A.; Sauer, B. E.; Tarbutt, M. R.

2017-12-01

Magneto-optical trapping and sub-Doppler cooling have been essential to most experiments with quantum degenerate gases, optical lattices, atomic fountains and many other applications. A broad set of new applications await ultracold molecules, and the extension of laser cooling to molecules has begun. A magneto-optical trap (MOT) has been demonstrated for a single molecular species, SrF, but the sub-Doppler temperatures required for many applications have not yet been reached. Here we demonstrate a MOT of a second species, CaF, and we show how to cool these molecules to 50 μK, well below the Doppler limit, using a three-dimensional optical molasses. These ultracold molecules could be loaded into optical tweezers to trap arbitrary arrays for quantum simulation, launched into a molecular fountain for testing fundamental physics, and used to study collisions and chemistry between atoms and molecules at ultracold temperatures.

Infrared Illuminated CdZnTe detectors with improved performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ivanov, V.; Loutchanski, A.; Dorogov, P.; Khinoverov, S.

2013-06-01

It was found that IR illumination of a properly chosen wavelength and intensity can significantly improve spectrometric characteristics of CdZnTe quasi-hemispherical detectors [1]. Improving of the spectrometric characteristics is due to improvement of uniformity of charge collection by the detector volume. For operation at room temperature the optimal wavelength of IR illumination is about 940 nm, but for operation at lower temperature of -20 deg. C the optimal wavelengths of IR illumination is about 1050 nm. Infrared illumination can be performed using conventional low-power IR LEDs. Application of SMD LEDs allows produce miniature detection probes with IR illuminated CdZnTe detectors. We have fabricated and tested a variety of detection probes with CdZnTe quasi-hemispherical detectors from the smallest with volumes of 1-5 mm 3 to larger with volumes of 1.5 cm 3 and 4.0 cm 3 . The use of IR illumination significantly improves spectrometric characteristics of the probes operating at room temperature, especially probes with detectors of large volumes. The probe with the detector of 4 cm 3 without IR illumination had energy resolution of 24.2 keV at 662 keV and of 12.5 keV with IR illumination. (authors)

Illumination compensation in ground based hyperspectral imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Wendel, Alexander; Underwood, James

2017-07-01

Hyperspectral imaging has emerged as an important tool for analysing vegetation data in agricultural applications. Recently, low altitude and ground based hyperspectral imaging solutions have come to the fore, providing very high resolution data for mapping and studying large areas of crops in detail. However, these platforms introduce a unique set of challenges that need to be overcome to ensure consistent, accurate and timely acquisition of data. One particular problem is dealing with changes in environmental illumination while operating with natural light under cloud cover, which can have considerable effects on spectral shape. In the past this has been commonly achieved by imaging known reference targets at the time of data acquisition, direct measurement of irradiance, or atmospheric modelling. While capturing a reference panel continuously or very frequently allows accurate compensation for illumination changes, this is often not practical with ground based platforms, and impossible in aerial applications. This paper examines the use of an autonomous unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) to gather high resolution hyperspectral imaging data of crops under natural illumination. A process of illumination compensation is performed to extract the inherent reflectance properties of the crops, despite variable illumination. This work adapts a previously developed subspace model approach to reflectance and illumination recovery. Though tested on a ground vehicle in this paper, it is applicable to low altitude unmanned aerial hyperspectral imagery also. The method uses occasional observations of reference panel training data from within the same or other datasets, which enables a practical field protocol that minimises in-field manual labour. This paper tests the new approach, comparing it against traditional methods. Several illumination compensation protocols for high volume ground based data collection are presented based on the results. The findings in this paper are

Measurement of integrated coefficients of ultracold neutron reflection from solid surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Golikov, V.V.; Kulagin, E.N.; Nikitenko, Yu.V.

1985-01-01

The method of measurement of the integrated coefficients of ultracold neutrons (UCN) reflection from solid surfaces is reported. A simple formula is suggested which expresses the integrated coefficients of UCN reflection from a given sample through the measured counting rate of the detector with and without strong absorber (polyethelene). The parameters are determined describing anisotropic and inhomogeneity properties of UCN reflection from Al, Mg, Pb, Zn, Mo, stainless steel, T and V are measured. The thickness of oxide layers is determined within the 5-10A accuracy limits from the experimental coefficients of UCN reflection from metals having on their surfaces the oxides with boundary velocity larger than that for the metal. It has been determined that the density of 5000 A layer of heavy ice freezed on aluminium is 0.83 +- 0.05 from the crystal ice density

Optimal LED-based illumination control via distributed convex optimization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aslam, Muhammad; Hermans, R.M.; Pandharipande, A.; Lazar, M.; Boje, Edward; Xia, Xiaohua

2014-01-01

Achieving illumination and energy consumption targets is essential in indoor lighting design. The provision of localized illumination to occupants, and the utilization of natural light and energy-efficient light-emitting diode (LED) luminaires can help meet both objectives. Localized illumination

Real-time Global Illumination by Simulating Photon Mapping

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Bent Dalgaard

2004-01-01

This thesis introduces a new method for simulating photon mapping in realtime. The method uses a variety of both CPU and GPU based algorithms for speeding up the different elements in global illumination. The idea behind the method is to calculate each illumination element individually in a progr......This thesis introduces a new method for simulating photon mapping in realtime. The method uses a variety of both CPU and GPU based algorithms for speeding up the different elements in global illumination. The idea behind the method is to calculate each illumination element individually...... in a progressive and efficient manner. This has been done by analyzing the photon mapping method and by selecting efficient methods, either CPU based or GPU based, which replaces the original photon mapping algorithms. We have chosen to focus on the indirect illumination and the caustics. In our method we first...... divide the photon map into several photon maps in order to make local updates possible. Then indirect illumination is added using light maps that are selectively updated by using selective photon tracing on the CPU. The final gathering step is calculated by using fragment programs and GPU based...

Theoretical model for ultracold molecule formation via adaptive feedback control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poschinger, Ulrich; Salzmann, Wenzel; Wester, Roland; Weidemueller, Matthias; Koch, Christiane P; Kosloff, Ronnie

2006-01-01

We theoretically investigate pump-dump photoassociation of ultracold molecules with amplitude- and phase-modulated femtosecond laser pulses. For this purpose, a perturbative model for light-matter interaction is developed and combined with a genetic algorithm for adaptive feedback control of the laser pulse shapes. The model is applied to the formation of 85 Rb 2 molecules in a magneto-optical trap. We find that optimized pulse shapes may maximize the formation of ground state molecules in a specific vibrational state at a pump-dump delay time for which unshaped pulses lead to a minimum of the formation rate. Compared to the maximum formation rate obtained for unshaped pulses at the optimum pump-dump delay, the optimized pulses lead to a significant improvement of about 40% for the target level population. Since our model yields the spectral amplitudes and phases of the optimized pulses, the results are directly applicable in pulse shaping experiments

Nonimaging optical illumination system

Science.gov (United States)

Winston, Roland; Ries, Harald

1996-01-01

A nonimaging illumination optical device for producing a selected far field illuminance over an angular range. The optical device includes a light source 102, a light reflecting surface 108, and a family of light edge rays defined along a reference line 104 with the reflecting surface 108 defined in terms of the reference line 104 as a parametric function R(t) where t is a scalar parameter position and R(t)=k(t)+Du(t) where k(t) is a parameterization of the reference line 104, and D is a distance from a point on the reference line 104 to the reflection surface 108 along the desired edge ray through the point.

Universal scaling relations for the energies of many-electron Hooke atoms

Science.gov (United States)

Odriazola, A.; Solanpää, J.; Kylänpää, I.; González, A.; Räsänen, E.

2017-04-01

A three-dimensional harmonic oscillator consisting of N ≥2 Coulomb-interacting charged particles, often called a (many-electron) Hooke atom, is a popular model in computational physics for, e.g., semiconductor quantum dots and ultracold ions. Starting from Thomas-Fermi theory, we show that the ground-state energy of such a system satisfies a nontrivial relation: Eg s=ω N4 /3fg s(β N1 /2) , where ω is the oscillator strength, β is the ratio between Coulomb and oscillator characteristic energies, and fg s is a universal function. We perform extensive numerical calculations to verify the applicability of the relation. In addition, we show that the chemical potentials and addition energies also satisfy approximate scaling relations. In all cases, analytic expressions for the universal functions are provided. The results have predictive power in estimating the key ground-state properties of the system in the large-N limit, and can be used in the development of approximative methods in electronic structure theory.

Temperature and coupling dependence of the universal contact intensity for an ultracold Fermi gas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Palestini, F.; Perali, A.; Pieri, P.; Strinati, G. C.

2010-01-01

Physical properties of an ultracold Fermi gas in the temperature-coupling phase diagram can be characterized by the contact intensity C, which enters the pair-correlation function at short distances and describes how the two-body problem merges into its surrounding. We show that the local order established by pairing fluctuations about the critical temperature T c of the superfluid transition considerably enhances the contact C in a temperature range where pseudogap phenomena are maximal. Our ab initio results for C in a trap compare well with recently available experimental data over a wide coupling range. An analysis is also provided for the effects of trap averaging on C.

Color constancy by characterization of illumination chromaticity

Science.gov (United States)

Nikkanen, Jarno T.

2011-05-01

Computational color constancy algorithms play a key role in achieving desired color reproduction in digital cameras. Failure to estimate illumination chromaticity correctly will result in invalid overall colour cast in the image that will be easily detected by human observers. A new algorithm is presented for computational color constancy. Low computational complexity and low memory requirement make the algorithm suitable for resource-limited camera devices, such as consumer digital cameras and camera phones. Operation of the algorithm relies on characterization of the range of possible illumination chromaticities in terms of camera sensor response. The fact that only illumination chromaticity is characterized instead of the full color gamut, for example, increases robustness against variations in sensor characteristics and against failure of diagonal model of illumination change. Multiple databases are used in order to demonstrate the good performance of the algorithm in comparison to the state-of-the-art color constancy algorithms.

Micropatterned superconducting film circuitry for operation in hybrid quantum devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bothner, Daniel

2013-01-01

This thesis discusses three aspects of the arduous way towards hybrid quantum systems consisting of superconducting circuits and ensembles of ultracold paramagnetic atoms. In the first part of the thesis, superconducting coplanar microwave resonators as used for quantum information processing with superconducting qubits are investigated in magnetic fields. In the second part of the thesis integrated atom chips are designed and fabricated, which offer the possibility to trap an ensemble of ultracold atoms close to a superconducting coplanar resonator on that chip. In the third and last part of the thesis, unconventional disordered and quasiperiodic arrangements of microfabricated holes (antidots) in superconducting films are patterned and investigated with respect to the impact of the arrangement on the superconductor transport properties in magnetic fields.

Collapse and revival oscillations as a probe for the tunneling amplitude in an ultracold Bose gas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wolf, F. Alexander; Hen, Itay; Rigol, Marcos

2010-01-01

We present a theoretical study of the quantum corrections to the revival time due to finite tunneling in the collapse and revival of matter-wave interference after a quantum quench. We study hard-core bosons in a superlattice potential and the Bose-Hubbard model by means of exact numerical approaches and mean-field theory. We consider systems without and with a trapping potential present. We show that the quantum corrections to the revival time can be used to accurately determine the value of the hopping parameter in experiments with ultracold bosons in optical lattices.

Weld pool visual sensing without external illumination

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Jinchao; Fan, Zhun; Olsen, Soren Ingvor

2011-01-01

Visual sensing in arc welding has become more and more important, but still remains challenging because of the harsh environment with extremely strong illumination from the arc. This paper presents a low-cost camera-based sensor system, without using external Illumination, but nevertheless able...

Optical design applications for enhanced illumination performance

Science.gov (United States)

Gilray, Carl; Lewin, Ian

1995-08-01

Nonimaging optical design techniques have been applied in the illumination industry for many years. Recently however, powerful software has been developed which allows accurate simulation and optimization of illumination devices. Wide experience has been obtained in using such design techniques for practical situations. These include automotive lighting where safety is of greatest importance, commercial lighting systems designed for energy efficiency, and numerous specialized applications. This presentation will discuss the performance requirements of a variety of illumination devices. It will further cover design methodology and present a variety of examples of practical applications for enhanced system performance.

Characterization and development of diamond-like carbon coatings for storing ultracold neutrons

CERN Document Server

Grinten, M G D; Shiers, D; Baker, C A; Green, K; Harris, P G; Iaydjiev, P S; Ivanov, S N; Geltenbort, P

1999-01-01

In order to determine the suitability of diamond-like carbon (DLC) as a material for storing ultracold neutrons to use in neutron electric-dipole moment (EDM) experiments, a number of tests on DLC coatings have been performed. Thin DLC layers deposited on quartz and aluminium substrates by chemical vapour deposition have been characterised by neutron transmission, neutron reflectometry, electron microscopy and neutron and mercury storage and depolarisation lifetime measurements. Two types of DLC have been compared; DLC made by chemical vapour deposition from natural methane and DLC made by chemical vapour deposition from deuterated methane. With these samples we determined the density, hydrogen concentration and Fermi potential of the coatings. DLC coatings made from deuterated methane are now successfully being used in an experiment to measure the EDM of the neutron.

Characterization and development of diamond-like carbon coatings for storing ultracold neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grinten, M.G.D. van der; Pendlebury, J.M.; Shiers, D.; Baker, C.A.; Green, K.; Harris, P.G.; Iaydjiev, P.S.; Ivanov, S.N.; Geltenbort, P.

1999-01-01

In order to determine the suitability of diamond-like carbon (DLC) as a material for storing ultracold neutrons to use in neutron electric-dipole moment (EDM) experiments, a number of tests on DLC coatings have been performed. Thin DLC layers deposited on quartz and aluminium substrates by chemical vapour deposition have been characterised by neutron transmission, neutron reflectometry, electron microscopy and neutron and mercury storage and depolarisation lifetime measurements. Two types of DLC have been compared; DLC made by chemical vapour deposition from natural methane and DLC made by chemical vapour deposition from deuterated methane. With these samples we determined the density, hydrogen concentration and Fermi potential of the coatings. DLC coatings made from deuterated methane are now successfully being used in an experiment to measure the EDM of the neutron

All-optical spinor Bose-Einstein condensation and the spinor dynamics-driven atom laser

Science.gov (United States)

Lundblad, Nathan Eric

Optical trapping as a viable means of exploring the physics of ultracold dilute atomic gases has revealed a new spectrum of physical phenomena. In particular, macroscopic and sudden occupation of the ground state below a critical temperature---a phenomenon known as Bose-Einstein condensation---has become an even richer system for the study of quantum mechanics, ultracold collisions, and many-body physics in general. Optical trapping liberates the spin degree of the BEC, making the order parameter vectorial ('spinor BEC'), as opposed to the scalar order of traditional magnetically trapped condensates. The work described within is divided into two main efforts. The first encompasses the all-optical creation of a Bose-Einstein condensate in rubidium vapor. An all-optical path to spinor BEC (as opposed to transfer to an optical trap from a magnetic trap condensate) was desired both for the simplicity of the experimental setup and also for the potential gains in speed of creation; evaporative cooling, the only known path to dilute-gas condensation, works only as efficiently as the rate of elastic collisions in the gas, a rate that starts out much higher in optical traps. The first all-optical BEC was formed elsewhere in 2001; the years following saw many groups worldwide seeking to create their own version. Our own all-optical spinor BEC, made with a single-beam dipole trap formed by a focused CO2 laser, is described here, with particular attention paid to trap loading, measurement of trap parameters, and the use of a novel 780 nm high-power laser system. The second part describes initial experiments performed with the nascent condensate. The spinor properties of the condensate are documented, and a measurement is made of the density-dependent rate of spin mixing in the condensate. In addition, we demonstrate a novel dual-beam atom laser formed by outcoupling oppositely polarized components of the condensate, whose populations have been coherently evolved through spin

Wide-area SWIR arrays and active illuminators

Science.gov (United States)

MacDougal, Michael; Hood, Andrew; Geske, Jon; Wang, Chad; Renner, Daniel; Follman, David; Heu, Paula

2012-01-01

We describe the factors that go into the component choices for a short wavelength (SWIR) imager, which include the SWIR sensor, the lens, and the illuminator. We have shown the factors for reducing dark current, and shown that we can achieve well below 1.5 nA/cm2 for 15 μm devices at 7°C. We have mated our InGaAs detector arrays to 640x512 readout integrated integrated circuits (ROICs) to make focal plane arrays (FPAs). In addition, we have fabricated high definition 1920x1080 FPAs for wide field of view imaging. The resulting FPAs are capable of imaging photon fluxes with wavelengths between 1 and 1.6 microns at low light levels. The dark current associated with these FPAs is extremely low, exhibiting a mean dark current density of 0.26 nA/cm2 at 0°C. FLIR has also developed a high definition, 1920x1080, 15 um pitch SWIR sensor. In addition, FLIR has developed laser arrays that provide flat illumination in scenes that are normally light-starved. The illuminators have 40% wall-plug efficiency and provide low-speckle illumination, provide artifact-free imagery versus conventional laser illuminators.

Content adaptive illumination for Fourier ptychography.

Science.gov (United States)

Bian, Liheng; Suo, Jinli; Situ, Guohai; Zheng, Guoan; Chen, Feng; Dai, Qionghai

2014-12-01

Fourier ptychography (FP) is a recently reported technique, for large field-of-view and high-resolution imaging. Specifically, FP captures a set of low-resolution images, under angularly varying illuminations, and stitches them together in the Fourier domain. One of FP's main disadvantages is its long capturing process, due to the requisite large number of incident illumination angles. In this Letter, utilizing the sparsity of natural images in the Fourier domain, we propose a highly efficient method, termed adaptive Fourier ptychography (AFP), which applies content adaptive illumination for FP, to capture the most informative parts of the scene's spatial spectrum. We validate the effectiveness and efficiency of the reported framework, with both simulated and real experiments. Results show that the proposed AFP could shorten the acquisition time of conventional FP, by around 30%-60%.

Colloquium: The Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox: From concepts to applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reid, M.; Drummond, P.; Bowen, W.

2009-01-01

amplifier and optical fiber quantum soliton experiments. Current proposals for extending EPR experiments to massive-particle systems are discussed, including spin squeezing, atomic position entanglement, and quadrature entanglement in ultracold atoms. Finally, applications of this technology to quantum key...

Ultracold lithium-6 atoms in the BEC-BCS crossover: experiments and the construction of a new apparatus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teichmann, M.

2007-09-01

We use a fermionic gas of Lithium-6 as a model system to study superfluidity. The limiting cases of superfluidity are Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) and superconductivity, described by the theory by Bardeen, Cooper and Schrieffer (BCS). In Lithium-6 gases, we can explore the whole range between the two cases, known as the BEC-BCS crossover, using a Feshbach resonance. We study the change of the momentum distribution of the gas in this cross-over and compare to theoretical models. We also investigate the hydrodynamic expansion, characteristic for a superfluid gas. We observe a sudden change of the ellipticity of the gas close to the transition to the superfluid phase. Moreover, we localized heteronuclear Feshbach resonances between 6 Li and 7 Li. We are currently constructing a second generation of the experimental setup. An new laser system, based on high power laser diodes, was developed. Changes in the vacuum chamber, including a complete reconstruction of the Zeeman slower, have increased the atomic flux, allowing us to increase the repetition rate of our experiment. Modifications of the geometry of the magnetic traps lead to a higher number of trapped atoms. (author)

Energy efficient LED layout optimization for near-uniform illumination

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, Ramy E.; Elgala, Hany

2016-09-01

In this paper, we consider the problem of designing energy efficient light emitting diodes (LEDs) layout while satisfying the illumination constraints. Towards this objective, we present a simple approach to the illumination design problem based on the concept of the virtual LED. We formulate a constrained optimization problem for minimizing the power consumption while maintaining a near-uniform illumination throughout the room. By solving the resulting constrained linear program, we obtain the number of required LEDs and the optimal output luminous intensities that achieve the desired illumination constraints.

Advanced split-illumination electron holography without Fresnel fringes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanigaki, Toshiaki; Aizawa, Shinji; Park, Hyun Soon; Matsuda, Tsuyoshi; Harada, Ken; Shindo, Daisuke

2014-01-01

Advanced split-illumination electron holography was developed by employing two biprisms in the illuminating system to split an electron wave into two coherent waves and two biprisms in the imaging system to overlap them. A focused image of an upper condenser-biprism filament was formed on the sample plane, and all other filaments were placed in its shadow. This developed system makes it possible to obtain precise reconstructed object waves without modulations due to Fresnel fringes, in addition to holograms of distant objects from reference waves. - Highlights: • Advanced split-illumination electron holography without Fresnel fringes is developed. • Two biprisms are installed in illuminating system of microscope. • High-precision holographic observations of an area locating far from the sample edge become possible

Advanced split-illumination electron holography without Fresnel fringes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tanigaki, Toshiaki, E-mail: tanigaki-toshiaki@riken.jp [Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS), RIKEN, Hirosawa 2-1, Wako, Saitama 351-0198 (Japan); Aizawa, Shinji; Park, Hyun Soon [Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS), RIKEN, Hirosawa 2-1, Wako, Saitama 351-0198 (Japan); Matsuda, Tsuyoshi [Japan Science and Technology Agency, Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012 (Japan); Harada, Ken [Central Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd., Hatoyama, Saitama 350-0395 (Japan); Shindo, Daisuke [Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS), RIKEN, Hirosawa 2-1, Wako, Saitama 351-0198 (Japan); Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University, Katahira 2-1-1, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan)

2014-02-01

Advanced split-illumination electron holography was developed by employing two biprisms in the illuminating system to split an electron wave into two coherent waves and two biprisms in the imaging system to overlap them. A focused image of an upper condenser-biprism filament was formed on the sample plane, and all other filaments were placed in its shadow. This developed system makes it possible to obtain precise reconstructed object waves without modulations due to Fresnel fringes, in addition to holograms of distant objects from reference waves. - Highlights: • Advanced split-illumination electron holography without Fresnel fringes is developed. • Two biprisms are installed in illuminating system of microscope. • High-precision holographic observations of an area locating far from the sample edge become possible.

Optical bistability of a thin film of resonant atoms in a phase-sensitive thermostate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basharov, A.M.

1995-01-01

It is shown theoretically that when a thin film of two-level atoms interacting with a resonant coherent electromagnetic wave is additionally illuminated with a squeezed field, a bistable transmission/reflection regime for coherent waves is obtained. This regime depends strongly on the phase difference between the coherent and the squeezed fields. New regimes, including a bistable regime, for the interaction of a coherent field with a film of resonant atoms are predicted based on this phenomenon. 14 refs., 5 figs

Diffuse-Illumination Systems for Growing Plants

Science.gov (United States)

May, George; Ryan, Robert

2010-01-01

Agriculture in both terrestrial and space-controlled environments relies heavily on artificial illumination for efficient photosynthesis. Plant-growth illumination systems require high photon flux in the spectral range corresponding with plant photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) (400 700 nm), high spatial uniformity to promote uniform growth, and high energy efficiency to minimize electricity usage. The proposed plant-growth system takes advantage of the highly diffuse reflective surfaces on the interior of a sphere, hemisphere, or other nearly enclosed structure that is coated with highly reflective materials. This type of surface and structure uniformly mixes discrete light sources to produce highly uniform illumination. Multiple reflections from within the domelike structures are exploited to obtain diffuse illumination, which promotes the efficient reuse of photons that have not yet been absorbed by plants. The highly reflective surfaces encourage only the plant tissue (placed inside the sphere or enclosure) to absorb the light. Discrete light sources, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), are typically used because of their high efficiency, wavelength selection, and electronically dimmable properties. The light sources are arranged to minimize shadowing and to improve uniformity. Different wavelengths of LEDs (typically blue, green, and red) are used for photosynthesis. Wavelengths outside the PAR range can be added for plant diagnostics or for growth regulation

Local photoconductivity of microcrystalline silicon thin films measured by conductive atomic force microscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ledinsky, Martin; Fejfar, Antonin; Vetushka, Aliaksei; Stuchlik, Jiri; Rezek, Bohuslav; Kocka, Jan [Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i. Cukrovarnicka 10, 162 00 Praha 6 (Czech Republic)

2011-11-15

Local currents measured under standard conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) conditions on microcrystalline silicon ({mu}c-Si:H) thin films were studied. It was shown that the AFM detection diode illuminating the AFM cantilever (see the figure on the right side) 100 x enhanced the current flows through the photosensitive {mu}c-Si:H layer. The local current map and current-voltage characteristics were measured under dark conditions. This study enables mapping of both the dark current and photocurrent. C-AFM cantilever illuminated by the detection diode during measurement on {mu}c-Si:H thin film. (copyright 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Atomically Thin Mica Flakes and Their Application as Ultrathin Insulating Substrates for Graphene

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Castellanos-Gomez, Andres; Wojtaszek, Magdalena; Tombros, Nikolaos; Agrait, Nicolas; van Wees, Bart J.; Rubio-Bollinger, Gabino; Agraït, Nicolás