Related papers: Dense Atom Clouds in a Holographic Atom Trap

We study a system of ultra-cold atoms possessing long range interaction (e.g. dipole-dipole interaction) in a one dimensional optical lattice in the presence of a confining harmonic trap. We have shown that for large enough on-site and…

We describe the implementation of a system for studying light-matter interactions using an ensemble of $10^6$ cold rubidium 87 atoms, trapped in a single-beam optical dipole trap. In this configuration the elongated shape of the atomic…

We present a high-flux source of cold ytterbium atoms that is robust, lightweight and low-maintenance. Our apparatus delivers $10^9$ atoms/s into a 3D magneto-optical trap without requiring water-cooling or high current power supplies. We…

We report a high-resolution microscope system for imaging ultracold ytterbium atoms trapped in a two-dimensional optical lattice. By using the ultraviolet strong transition combined with a solid immersion lens and high-resolution optics,…

We describe the preparation of ultra cold atomic clouds in a dilution refrigerator. The closed cycle 3He/4He cryostat was custom made to provide optical access for laser cooling, optical manipulation and detection of atoms. We show that the…

Ultracold atomic gases have been used extensively in recent years to realize textbook examples of condensed matter phenomena. Recently, phase transitions to ordered structures have been predicted for gases of highly excited, 'frozen'…

We report a method for loading cold atoms into an optical trap with high initial phase-space density (PSD). When the trap beam is overlapped with atoms in optical molasses of optimized parameters including large cooling beam detuning…

Optical tweezers have become essential tools to manipulate atoms or molecules at a single particle level. However, using standard diffracted-limited optical systems, the transverse size of the trap is lower bounded by the optical…

We present the experimental realization of a compressible blue detuned crossed dipole trap for cold atoms allowing for fast dynamical compression (~ 5 - 10 ms) of 5x10^7 Rubidium atoms up to densities of ~ 10^13 cm^-3. The dipole trap…

We developed an ultra-compact high-resolution imaging system for cold atoms. Its only in-vacuum element is a multimode optical fiber with a diameter of $230\,\mu$m, which simultaneously collects light and guides it out of the vacuum…

We have created a Bose-Einstein condensate of 87Rb atoms directly in an optical trap. We employ a quasi-electrostatic dipole force trap formed by two crossed CO_2 laser beams. Loading directly from a sub-doppler laser-cooled cloud of atoms…

Scaling the size of assembled neutral-atom arrays trapped in optical lattices or optical tweezers is an enabling step for a number of applications ranging from quantum simulations to quantum metrology. However, preparation times increase…

We consider a single atom in an optical lattice, subject to a harmonic trapping potential. The problem is treated in the tight-binding approximation, with an extra parameter \kappa denoting the strength of the harmonic trap. It is shown…

With a two-dimensional (2D) optical mask, nanoscale patterns are created for the first time in an atom lithography process using metastable helium atoms. The internal energy of the atoms is used to locally damage a hydrofobic resist layer,…

We study Bragg scattering at 1D optical lattices. Cold atoms are confined by the optical dipole force at the antinodes of a standing wave generated inside a laser-driven high-finesse cavity. The atoms arrange themselves into a chain of…

We report on a general method for the rapid production of quantum degenerate gases. Using 174Yb, we achieve an experimental cycle time as low as (1.6-1.8) s for the production of Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) of (0.5-1) x 10^5 atoms.…

Atomic quantum gases in optical lattices serve as a versatile testbed for important concepts of modern condensed-matter physics. The availability of methods to characterize strongly correlated phases is crucial for the study of these…

High-density and ultracold atomic gases have emerged as promising media for storage of individual photons for quantum memory applications. In this paper we provide an overview of our theoretical and experimental efforts in this direction,…

We describe an atom trapping mechanism based upon differential optical pumping between metastable hyperfine states by partially-displaced laser beams in the absence of a magnetic field. With realistic laser powers, trap spring constants…

We experimentally demonstrate optical dipole trapping of a cloud of cold atoms by means of a dynamically coupled mode of a high-finesse cavity. We show that the trap requires a collective action of the atoms, i.e. a single atom would not be…