Related papers: Optics with an Atom Laser Beam
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…
Contrary to the optical spin angular momentum (SAM), the role played by the orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light in magneto-optics remains largely unexplored. However, the SAM and OAM are known to be coupled when light interacts with…
It has been known for a century that electromagnetic fields can transport not only energy and linear momentum but also angular momentum. However, it was not until twenty years ago, with the discovery in laser optics of experimental…
This paper shows a novel method to precisely measure the laser power using an optomechanical system. By measuring a mirror displacement caused by the reflection of an amplitude modulated laser beam, the number of photons in the incident…
Light-induced rotation of absorbing microscopic particles by transfer of angular momentum from light to the material raises the possibility of optically driven micromachines. The phenomenon has been observed using elliptically polarized…
General Relativistic calculations in the linear regime have been made for electromagnetic beams of radiation known as optical vortices. These exotic beams of light carry a physical quantity known as optical orbital angular momentum (OAM).…
An atom in open space can be detected by means of resonant absorption and reemission of electromagnetic waves, known as resonance fluorescence, which is a fundamental phenomenon of quantum optics. We report on the observation of scattering…
Radiation pressure forces in a focussed laser beam can be used to trap microscopic absorbing particles against a substrate. Calculations based on momentum transfer considerations show that stable trapping occurs before the beam waist, and…
We report on an investigation of the beam profile of an atom laser extracted from a magnetically trapped $^{87}$Rb Bose-Einstein condensate. The transverse momentum distribution is magnified by a curved mirror for matter waves and a…
We study tunable refraction of light in one-dimensional periodic lattices induced optically in a photorefractive crystal. We observe experimentally both positive and negative refraction of beams which selectively excite the first or second…
A magnetometric technique is demonstrated that may be suitable for precision measurements of fields ranging from the sub-microgauss level to above the Earth field. It is based on resonant nonlinear magneto-optical rotation caused by atoms…
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 present experimental and theoretical results showing the improved beam quality and reduced divergence of an atom laser produced by an optical Raman transition, compared to one produced by an RF transition. We show that Raman outcoupling…
We present a theoretical analysis of a novel scheme for optical cooling of particles that does not in principle require a closed optical transition. A tightly confined laser beam interacting with a trapped particle experiences a phase…
The nature of light-matter interaction is governed by the spatial-temporal structures of a light field and material wavefunctions. The emergence of the light beam with transverse phase vortex, or equivalently orbital angular momentum (OAM)…
We have built and operated an atom interferometer of the Mach-Zehnder type. The atomic wave is a supersonic beam of lithium seeded in argon and the mirrors and beam-splitters for the atomic wave are based on elastic Bragg diffraction on…
A theory of evanescent mode atomic mirrors utilising a metallic sheet on a dielectric substrate is described. The emphasis here is on the role of the metallic sheet and on the evaluation of atomic trajectories using the field- dipole…
We investigate the optical detection of single atoms held in a microscopic atom trap close to a surface. Laser light is guided by optical fibers or optical micro-structures via the atom to a photo-detector. Our results suggest that with…
An all-optical method of ultrafast spin rotation is put forward to precisely manipulate the polarization of relativistic charged particle beams of leptons or ions. In particular, laser-driven dense ultrashort beams are manipulated via…
Atomic detection by fluorescence may fail because of reflection from the laser or transmission without excitation. The detection probability for a given velocity range may be improved by controlling the detuning and the spatial dependence…