Related papers: Atom lens without chromatic aberrations
We describe new techniques in the construction of optical lattices to realize a coherent atom-based microscope, comprised of two atomic species used as target and probe atoms, each in an independently controlled optical lattice. Precise and…
An atom interferometer based on a Stern-Gerlach beam splitter is proposed. Atom scattering from a combination of magnetic quadrupole and homogeneous magnetic fields is considered. Using Raman transitions, atoms are coherently excited into…
We demonstrate an atom interferometer that uses a laser-cooled continuous beam of $^{87}$Rb atoms having velocities of 10--20 m/s. With spatially separated Raman beams to coherently manipulate the atomic wave packets, Mach--Zehnder…
The optical properties of a fixed atom are well-known and investigated. For example, the extraordinarily large cross section of a single atom as seen by a resonant photon is essential for quantum optical applications. Mechanical effects…
We present an analysis of atomic diffraction due to the interaction of an atomic beam with a pair of Gaussian light pulses. We derive a simple analytical expression for the populations in different diffraction orders. The validity of the…
We measure the angular divergence of a quasi-continuous, rf-outcoupled, free-falling atom laser as a function of the outcoupling frequency. The data is compared to a Gaussian-beam model of laser propagation that generalizes the standard…
We report a study on light force on a beam of neutral two-level atoms superimposed upon a few-cycle pulsed Gaussian laser field under both resonant and off-resonant condition. The phenomena of focusing, defocusing and steering of the…
We report the optical imaging of a single atom with nanometer resolution using an adaptive optical alignment technique that is applicable to general optical microscopy. By decomposing the image of a single laser-cooled atom, we identify and…
A method is proposed for producing atom gratings having period $\lambda /4$ and $\lambda /8$ using optical fields having wavelength $\lambda $. Counterpropagating optical fields drive Raman transitions between ground state sublevels. The…
We propose a scheme for state-insensitive trapping of neutral atoms by using light with two independent wavelengths. In particular, we describe the use of trapping and control lasers to minimize the variance of the potential experienced by…
In quantum optics, light-matter interaction has conventionally been studied using small atoms interacting with electromagnetic fields with wavelength several orders of magnitude larger than the atomic dimensions. In contrast, here we…
The large gradients of plasma-wakefield accelerators promise to shorten accelerators and reduce their financial and environmental costs. For such accelerators, a key challenge is the transport of beams with high divergence and energy…
In this article we theoretically study the phase shift a single atom imprints onto a coherent state light beam in free space. The calculations are performed in a semiclassical framework. The key parameters governing the interaction and thus…
We measure the coherent scattering of light by a cloud of laser-cooled atoms with a size comparable to the wavelength of light. By interfering a laser beam tuned near an atomic resonance with the field scattered by the atoms we observe a…
The dispersion relation of ultracold atoms in variably shaped optical lattices can be tuned to resemble that of a relativistic particle, i.e. be linear instead of the usual nonrelativistic quadratic dispersion relation of a free atom. Cold…
We propose a method to induce strong effective interactions between photons mediated by an atomic ensemble. To achieve this, we use the so-called stationary light effect to enhance the interaction. Regardless of the single-atom coupling to…
We theoretically study the propagation of light through a cold atomic medium, where the effects of motion, laser intensity, atomic density, and polarization can all modify the properties of the scattered light. We present two different…
The interaction between light and vapors in the presence of magnetic fields is fundamental to many quantum technologies and applications. Recently, the ability to geometrically confine atoms into periodic structures has enabled the creation…
We propose a novel approach for solving the scattering of light onto a two-level atom coupled to a one-dimensional waveguide. We first express the physical quantity of interest in terms of Feynman diagrams and treat the atom as a…
We present an optical system designed to capture and observe a single neutral atom in an optical dipole trap, created by focussing a laser beam using a large numerical aperture N.A.=0.5 aspheric lens. We experimentally evaluate the…