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Measurement and simulation of atomic motion in nanoscale optical trapping potentials

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Abstract

Atoms trapped in the evanescent field around a nanofiber experience strong coupling to the light guided in the fiber mode. However, due to the intrinsically strong positional dependence of the coupling, thermal motion of the ensemble limits the use of nanofiber trapped atoms for some quantum tasks. We investigate the thermal dynamics of such an ensemble using short light pulses to make a spatially inhomogeneous population transfer between atomic states. As we monitor the wave packet of atoms created by this scheme, we find a damped oscillatory behavior which we attribute to sloshing and dispersion of the atoms. Oscillation frequencies range around \(100\hbox { kHz}\), and motional dephasing between atoms happens on a timescale of \(10\,\upmu \hbox {s}\). Comparison to Monte Carlo simulations of an ensemble of 1000 classical particles yields reasonable agreement for simulated ensemble temperatures between \(25\) and \({40}\,\upmu \hbox {K}\).

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge funding via the European Research Council Grant (787520-Quantum-N) and by the Villum Foundation.

Funding

This study was supported by European Research Council (Grant no. 787520-Quantum-N).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. QUANTOP, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 17, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Signe B. Markussen, Jürgen Appel, Christoffer Østfeldt, Jean-Baptiste S. Béguin, Eugene S. Polzik & Jörg H. Müller

  2. Danish National Metrology Institute, Kogle Allé 5, 2970, Hørsholm, Denmark

    Jürgen Appel

  3. Norman Bridge Laboratory of Physics, Caltech, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA

    Jean-Baptiste S. Béguin

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  1. Signe B. Markussen
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  2. Jürgen Appel
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  4. Jean-Baptiste S. Béguin
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  5. Eugene S. Polzik
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  6. Jörg H. Müller
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Correspondence to Jörg H. Müller.

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Markussen, S.B., Appel, J., Østfeldt, C. et al. Measurement and simulation of atomic motion in nanoscale optical trapping potentials. Appl. Phys. B 126, 73 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-020-07424-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-020-07424-5

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