Related papers: Polarization vs. magnetic field: competing eigenba…
We observe bimodal fluorescence patterns from atoms in a fast atomic beam when the laser excitation occurs in the presence of a magnetic field and the atoms sample only a portion of the laser profile. The behavior is well explained by…
We propose to control light trapping in a large ensemble of cold atoms by an external, static magnetic field. For an appropriate choice of frequency and polarization of the exciting pulse, the field is expected to speed up the fluorescence…
We investigate theoretically the mechanical effects of light on atoms trapped by an external potential, whose dipole transition couples to the mode of an optical resonator and is driven by a laser. We derive an analytical expression for the…
Selection of "magic" trapping conditions with ultracold atoms or molecules, where pairs of internal states experience identical trapping potentials, brings substantial benefits to precision measurements and quantum computing schemes.…
Recently we have demonstrated scalable, non-destructive, and high-fidelity detection of the internal state of $^{87}$Rb neutral atoms in optical dipole traps using state-dependent fluorescence imaging [M. Martinez-Dorantes et al., PRL,…
Population of levels of the hyperfine and fine split ground state of an atom is affected by radiative transitions induced by anisotropic radiation flux. Such aligned atoms precess in the external magnetic field and this affects properties…
We study motion and field dynamics of a single-atom laser consisting of a single incoherently pumped free atom moving in an optical high-{\it Q} resonator. For sufficient pumping, the system starts lasing whenever the atom is close to a…
An excited-state atom whose emitted light is back-reflected by a distant mirror can experience trapping forces, because the presence of the mirror modifies both the electromagnetic vacuum field and the atom's own radiation reaction field.…
Cold atomic gases are perfect laboratories for realization of quantum simulators. In order to simulate solid state systems in the presence of magnetic fields special effort has to be made because atoms are charge neutral. There are…
We theoretically investigate the damping and trapping forces in a three-dimensional magneto-optical trap (MOT), by numerically solving the optical Bloch equations. We focus on the case where there are dark states because the atom is driven…
The creation and detection of atomic polarization is examined theoretically, through the study of basic optical-pumping mechanisms and absorption and fluorescence measurements, and the dependence of these processes on the size of ground-…
Laser cooling and magneto-optical trapping of molecules typically involves multiple transitions driven by several laser frequencies. We analyze how magneto-optical trapping forces depend on the angular momenta, $F_l$ and $F_u$, and the…
In a recent experiment by Eichmann et al., polarization-sensitive measurements of the fluorescence from two four-level ions driven by a linearly polarized laser were made. Depending on the polarization chosen, different degrees of…
Optically Pumped Magnetometers use light to drive an atomic vapor into a Non-Equilibrium Steady State for sensing. This kind of state is achieved when spin-exchange collisions, together with optical pumping, dominate the relaxation…
We study a single incoherently pumped atom moving within an optical high-Q resonator in the strong coupling regime. Using a semiclassical description for the atom and field dynamics, we derive a closed system of differential equations to…
Recent studies have highlighted the frequent applications of structured light modes in optically pumped atomic magnetometers. In this work, we theoretically explore how a Poincar\'e beam probes an optically polarized atomic medium.…
We present experimental techniques and results related to the optimization and characterization of our nanofiber-based atom trap [Vetsch et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 203603 (2010)]. The atoms are confined in an optical lattice which is…
We propose an alternative method to laser cooling. Our approach utilizes the extreme brightness of a supersonic atomic beam, and the adiabatic atomic coilgun to slow atoms in the beam or to bring them to rest. We show how internal-state…
The problem of creating well-collimated beams of atoms escaping from a trap is studied. This problem is of high importance for the realization of atom lasers. Nonadiabatic dynamics of neutral atoms in nonuniform magnetic fields, typical of…
We study the laser cooling of one atom in an harmonic trap beyond the Lamb-Dicke regime. By using sequences of laser pulses of different detunings we show that the atom can be confined into just one state of the trap, either the ground…