Related papers: Trapping atoms using nanoscale quantum vacuum forc…
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…
Optically trapped nanoparticles have recently emerged as exciting candidates for tests of quantum mechanics at the macroscale and as versatile platforms for ultrasensitive metrology. Recent experiments have demonstrated parametric feedback…
This paper reports on conceptual and experimental work towards the realization of plasmonic surface traps for cold atoms. The trapping mechanism is based on the combination of a repulsive and an attractive potential generated by evanescent…
A new strategy for trapping quantum particles is presented, which behaves like an effective harmonic oscillator potential trap wherever is desired. The approach is based on harmonic contraction and expansion of the system around a fixed…
Cavity quantum electrodynamics systems using atoms in resonant optical cavities are central elements of many applications such as quantum networks and quantum-enhanced sensing. We present a novel experimental setup that achieves strong…
Reconfigurable arrays of trapped single atoms are an excellent platform for the simulation of many-body physics and the realisation of high-fidelity quantum gates. The confinement of atoms is often achieved with focussed laser beams acting…
There has been a recent surge of interest and progress in creating subwavelength free-space optical potentials for ultra-cold atoms. A key open question is whether geometric potentials, which are repulsive and ubiquitous in the creation of…
We propose an optical dipole trap for cold neutral atoms based on the electric field produced from the evanescent fields in a hollow rectangular slot cut through an optical nanofibre. In particular, we discuss the trap performance in…
The evanescent field surrounding nano-scale optical waveguides offers an efficient interface between light and mesoscopic ensembles of neutral atoms. However, the thermal motion of trapped atoms, combined with the strong radial gradients of…
Rydberg atoms in dc electric fields acquire static dipole moments. When the atoms are close to a surface producing an inhomogeneous electric field, such as by the adsorbates on an atom chip, depending on the sign of the dipole moment of the…
Optical trapping has proven to be a valuable experimental technique for precisely controlling small dielectric objects. However, due to their very nature, conventional optical traps are diffraction limited and require high intensities to…
We report on experiments with cold thermal $^7$Li atoms confined in combined magnetic and electric potentials. A novel type of three-dimensional trap was formed by modulating a magnetic guide using electrostatic fields. We observed atoms…
Visualization and manipulation of nanoscale matter is one of the main and current challenges in nanosciences. To this aim, different techniques have been recently developed to non-invasively trap and manipulate nano-specimens, like…
A full strength Coulomb interaction between trapped electrons can be felt only in absence of a neutralizing background. In order to study quantum degenerate electrons without such a background, an external trap is needed to compensate for…
We investigate numerically and experimentally the properties of a two color optical fiber taper trap, for which the evanescent field of the modes in the fiber taper give rise to a three-dimensional trapping potential. Experimentally, we use…
Contemporary experiments in cavity quantum electrodynamics (cavity QED) with gas-phase neutral atoms rely increasingly on laser cooling and optical, magneto-optical or magnetostatic trapping methods to provide atomic localization with…
Atoms can be trapped and guided using nano-fabricated wires on surfaces, achieving the scales required by quantum information proposals. These Atom Chips form the basis for robust and widespread applications of cold atoms ranging from atom…
Atomic ions trapped in ultra-high vacuum form an especially well-understood and useful physical system for quantum information processing. They provide excellent shielding of quantum information from environmental noise, while strong,…
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…
We study the out-of-equilibrium dynamics of non-interacting atoms confined within a one-dimensional harmonic trap triggered by dragging an external long-range potential through the system. The symmetry-breaking nature of this moving…