Related papers: Creating a self-induced dark spontaneous-force opt…
We present a theoretical model describing recently observed collective effects in large magneto-optically trapped atomic ensembles. Based on a kinetic description we develop an efficient test particle method, which in addition to the single…
We demonstrate a combined magneto-optical trap and imaging system that is suitable for the investigation of cold atoms near surfaces. In particular, we are able to trap atoms close to optically scattering surfaces and to image them with an…
Reabsorption, the multiple scattering of spontaneously emitted photons in optically thick gases, is a major limitation to efficient optical pumping and laser cooling in ultracold gases. We report mitigation of reabsorption using spatial and…
We describe experiments on trapping of atoms in microscopic magneto-optical traps on an optically transparent permanent-magnet atom chip. The chip is made of magnetically hard ferrite-garnet material deposited on a dielectric substrate. The…
We describe a simple experimental technique which allows us to store a small and deterministic number of neutral atoms in an optical dipole trap. The desired atom number is prepared in a magneto-optical trap overlapped with a single focused…
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…
Direct laser cooling of molecules has reached a phase space density exceeding 10$^{-6}$ in optical traps, but with rather small molecular numbers. To progress towards quantum degeneracy, a mechanism is needed that combines sub-Doppler…
We realize laser cooling and trapping of titanium (Ti) atoms in a mangeto-optical trap (MOT). While Ti does not possess a transition suitable for laser cooling out of its $\mathrm{3d^24s^2}$ $\mathrm{a^3F}$ ground term, there is such a…
We demonstrate an efficient scheme for continuous trap loading based upon spatially selective optical pumping. We discuss the case of $^{1}$S$_{0}$ calcium atoms in an optical dipole trap (ODT), however, similar strategies should be…
Magneto-optical traps (MOTs) are widely used for laser cooling of atoms. We have developed a high-flux compact cold-atom source based on a pyramid MOT with a unique adjustable aperture that is highly suitable for portable quantum technology…
We demonstrate the optical generation of dynamic dark optical ring lattices, which do not require Laguerre-Gauss beams, large optical coherence lengths or interferometric stability. Simple control signals lead to spatial modulation and…
Optical trapping and manipulation of neutral particles has led to a variety of experiments from stretching DNA-molecules to trapping and cooling of neutral atoms. An exciting recent outgrowth of the technique is an experimental…
We report here measurements on a dark magneto-optical trap (DMOT) of $^{85}$Rb atoms using an optical nanofibre (ONF) with a waist of $\sim$~1 $\mu$m. The DMOT is created using a doughnut-shaped repump beam along with a depump beam for…
We show the possibility of implementing a deep dissipative optical lattice for neutral atoms with a macroscopic period. The depth of the lattice can reach magnitudes comparable to the depth of the magneto-optical traps (MOT), while the…
We have developed an improved scheme for loading atoms into a magneto-optical trap (MOT) from a directed alkali metal dispenser in < 10^-10 torr ultra-high vacuum conditions. A current-driven dispenser was surrounded with a cold absorbing…
We are developing a new hybrid atom-ion trap to study the interaction of ultracold rubidium atoms with mass-selected OH- molecules. The ions are trapped inside an octupole rf-trap made of thin wires instead of the commonly used rods. This…
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…
We present a novel technique for measuring the characteristics of a magneto-optical trap for cold atoms by monitoring the spontaneous emission from trapped atoms coupled into the guided mode of a tapered optical nanofiber. We show that the…
We present a faster repumping scheme for strontium magneto-optical traps operating on the broad ${\mathrm{5s^2} ^1\mathrm{S}_0} - {\mathrm{5s5p} ^1\mathrm{P}_1}$ laser cooling transition. Contrary to existing repumping schemes, we directly…
Ultracold atomic gases with uniform density can be created by flat-bottom optical traps. These gases provide an ideal platform to study many-body physics in a system that allows for simple connections with theoretical models and emulation…