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We demonstrate a Magneto-Optical Trap (MOT) configuration which employs optical forces due to light scattering between electronically excited states of the atom. With the standard MOT laser beams propagating along the {\it x}- and {\it y}-…
We sense the motion of a trapped atomic ion using a sequence of state-dependent ultrafast momentum kicks. We use this atom interferometer to characterize a nearly-pure quantum state with $n=1$ phonon and accurately measure thermal states…
The phenomenological description of propagation of atomic matter waves inside a curved atom wave guide is presented based on the effective action principle. The evolutions in both temporal and spatial domains for the atomic matter wave in…
We demonstrate the generation of a cold-atom ensemble within a sub-millimeter diameter hole in a transparent membrane, a so-called "membrane MOT". With a sub-Doppler cooling process, the atoms trapped by the membrane MOT are cooled down to…
Laser cooled atoms are central to modern precision measurements. They are also increasingly important as an enabling technology for experimental cavity quantum electrodynamics, quantum information processing and matter wave interferometry.…
We demonstrate broadband laser cooling of atomic ions in an rf trap using ultrafast pulses from a modelocked laser. The temperature of a single ion is measured by observing the size of a time-averaged image of the ion in the known harmonic…
By employing the equivalent of a knife-edge measurement for matter-waves, we are able to characterize ultra-low momentum widths. We measure a momentum width corresponding to an effective temperature of 0.9 $\pm$ 0.2 nK, limited only by our…
We have demonstrated and modeled a simple and efficient method to transfer atoms from a first Magneto-Optical Trap (MOT) to a second one. Two independent setups, with cesium and rubidium atoms respectively, have shown that a high power and…
We have observed self-sustained radial oscillations in a large magneto-optical trap (MOT), containing up to $10^{10}$ Rb$^{85}$ atoms. This instability is due to the competition between the confining force of the MOT and the repulsive…
We introduce a method for cooling atoms in an optical dipole trap using pulse-width modulation (PWM) technique, without reducing the laser power of the dipole trap. The PWM technique involves digital modulation of the trap at a fixed…
Recent work on magnetic micro traps for ultracold atoms is briefly reviewed. The basic principles of operation are described together with the loading methods and some of the realized trap geometries. Experiments are discussed that study…
We present a robust continuous optical loading scheme for a Ioffe-Pritchard (IP) type magnetic trap. Atoms are cooled and trapped in a modified magneto-optical trap (MOT) consisting of a conventional 2D-MOT in radial direction and an axial…
We describe a method for creating atomic-scale electric contacts. A metal source is deposited on two insulating substrates separated by a 70 nm gap. Electric conductance across the gap is monitored, while protrusions from the bulk extend…
Tapping mode atomic force microscopy is a standard technique for inspection and analysis at the nanometer scale. The understanding of the non-linear dynamics of the system due to the tip sample interaction is an important prerequisite for a…
We present an apparatus for the study of an ultracold gaseous atomic mixture of 133Cs and 87Rb. The mixture is prepared using a double magneto-optical trap (MOT) system in which a two-species pyramid MOT acts as a source of cold atoms for a…
We consider the absorption of microwaves by a quantum Hall droplet. We show that the number and velocities of charged edge modes can be directly measured from a droplet of known shape. In contrast to standard transport measurements,…
We review our experiments on quantum information processing with neutral atoms in optical lattices and magnetic microtraps. Atoms in an optical lattice in the Mott insulator regime serve as a large qubit register. A spin-dependent lattice…
Thulium atoms are trapped in a magneto-optical trap using a strong transition at 410 nm with a small branching ratio. We trap up to $7\times10^{4}$ atoms at a temperature of 0.8(2) mK after deceleration in a 40 cm long Zeeman slower.…
We used microwave radiation to evaporatively cool a mixture of of 133Cs and 87Rb atoms in a magnetic trap. A mixture composed of an equal number (around 10^4) of Rb and Cs atoms in their doubly polarized states at ultracold temperatures was…
We demonstrate a new approach for the metrology of microwave fields based on the trap-loss-spectroscopy of cold Rydberg atoms in a magneto-optical trap. Compared to state-of-the-art sensors using room-temperature vapors, cold atoms allow…