No Arabic abstract
We demonstrate spatially resolved, coherent excitation of Rydberg atoms on an atom chip. Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) is used to investigate the properties of the Rydberg atoms near the gold coated chip surface. We measure distance dependent shifts (~10 MHz) of the Rydberg energy levels caused by a spatially inhomogeneous electric field. The measured field strength and distance dependence is in agreement with a simple model for the electric field produced by a localized patch of Rb adsorbates deposited on the chip surface during experiments. The EIT resonances remain narrow (< 4 MHz) and the observed widths are independent of atom-surface distance down to ~20 mum, indicating relatively long lifetime of the Rydberg states. Our results open the way to studies of dipolar physics, collective excitations, quantum metrology and quantum information processing involving interacting Rydberg excited atoms on atom chips.
We experimentally demonstrate optical spectroscopy of magnetically trapped atoms on an atom chip. High resolution optical spectra of individual trapped clouds are recorded within a few hundred milliseconds. Detection sensitivities close to the single atom level are obtained by photoionization of the excited atoms and subsequent ion detection with a channel electron multiplier. Temperature and decay rates of the trapped atomic cloud can be monitored in real time for several seconds with only little detection losses. The spectrometer can be used for investigations of ultracold atomic mixtures and for the development of interferometric quantum sensors on atom chips.
We have observed resonant energy transfer between cold Rydberg atoms in spatially separated cylinders. Resonant dipole-dipole coupling excites the 49s atoms in one cylinder to the 49p state while the 41d atoms in the second cylinder are transferred down to the 42p state. We have measured the production of the 49p state as a function of separation of the cylinders (0 - 80 um) and the interaction time (0 - 25 us). In addition we measured the width of the electric field resonances. A full many-body quantum calculation reproduces the main features of the experiments.
Detecting single atoms (qubits) is a key requirement for implementing quantum information processing on an atom chip. The detector should ideally be integrated on the chip. Here we present and compare different methods capable of detecting neutral atoms on an atom chip. After a short introduction to fluorescence and absorption detection we discuss cavity enhanced detection of single atoms. In particular we concentrate on optical fiber based detectors such as fiber cavities and tapered fiber dipole traps. We discuss the various constraints in building such detectors in detail along with the current implementations on atom chips. Results from experimental tests of fiber integration are also described. In addition we present a pilot experiment for atom detection using a concentric cavity to verify the required scaling.
We develop and study quantum and semi-classical models of Rydberg-atom spectroscopy in amplitude-modulated optical lattices. Both initial- and target-state Rydberg atoms are trapped in the lattice. Unlike in any other spectroscopic scheme, the modulation-induced ponderomotive coupling between the Rydberg states is spatially periodic and perfectly phase-locked to the lattice trapping potentials. This leads to a novel type of sub-Doppler mechanism, which we explain in detail. In our exact quantum model, we solve the time-dependent Schrodinger equation in the product space of center-of-mass (COM) momentum states and the internal-state space. We also develop a perturbative model based on the band structure in the lattice and Fermis golden rule, as well as a semi-classical trajectory model in which the COM is treated classically and the internal-state dynamics quantum-mechanically. In all models we obtain the spectrum of the target Rydberg-state population versus the lattice modulation frequency, averaged over the initial thermal COM momentum distribution of the atoms. We investigate the quantum-classical correspondence of the problem in several parameter regimes and exhibit spectral features that arise from vibrational COM coherences and rotary-echo effects. Applications in Rydberg-atom spectroscopy are discussed.
We present a detailed theoretical analysis of the implementation of shortcut-to-adiabaticity protocols for the fast transport of neutral atoms with atom chips. The objective is to engineer transport ramps with durations not exceeding a few hundred milliseconds to provide metrologically-relevant input states for an atomic sensor. Aided by numerical simulations of the classical and quantum dynamics, we study the behavior of a Bose-Einstein condensate in an atom chip setup with realistic anharmonic trapping. We detail the implementation of fast and controlled transports over large distances of several millimeters, i.e. distances 1000 times larger than the size of the atomic cloud. A subsequent optimized release and collimation step demonstrates the capability of our transport method to generate ensembles of quantum gases with expansion speeds in the picokelvin regime. The performance of this procedure is analyzed in terms of collective excitations reflected in residual center of mass and size oscillations of the condensate. We further evaluate the robustness of the protocol against experimental imperfections.