The periodic magnetic cylinder tube for atom guidance： transport efficiency analysis

We have proposed a model of periodic axial magnetized hollow tube for atom guidance (1999 Opt. Commun. 160 72-4). In the present paper, an analytic solution of the magnetic field inside the tube is obtained and the transport efficiency of the cold atoms in the magnetic tube at different tube intensities of magnetization is discussed. The effect of the curvature of magnetic tube on the atom transport efficiency is also considered. We have found that the tube has a cooling effect on the transverse temperature of the transported atoms.     

The periodic magnetized cylinder tube for atom guidance： quantized motion analysis

We have analysed the transport effciency of an atomic waveguide constructed from a periodic axially magnetized hollow tube.We took into consideration the quantized motion of the atom inside the magnetic hollow cylinder tube,which is significant for the transportation of cold atoms.We deduced the quantized motion modes of the atomic waves in the tube by the approximation of infinite potential,which is valid for cold atoms and strong magnetization.For the atomic waveguide with weak magnetization,we have calculated the tunnelling effect of the atomic wave.The adiabatic condition for the motion of cold atoms is discussed.A time orbit potential method for solving the “zero magnetic field problem” is proposed.     

A Radio Frequency Field Guide Using Field Induced Adiabatic Potential

We study the behaviour of atoms in a field with both static magnetic field and radio frequency （rf） magnetic field. We calculate the adiabatic potential of atoms numerically beyond the usually rotating wave approximation, and it is pointed that there is a great difference between using these two methods. We find the preconditions when RWA is valid. In the extreme of static field almost parallel to rf field, we reach an analytic formula. Finally, we apply this method to 87 Rb and propose a guide based on an rf field on atom chip.     

Guiding Neutral Atoms with Two Current-Carrying Wires and a Vertical Bias Field on the Atom Chip

We demonstrate the guiding of neutral atoms with two parallel microfabricated current-carrying wires on the atom chip and a vertical magnetic bias field. The atoms are guided along a magnetic field minimum parallel to the current-carrying wires and confined in the other two directions. We describe in detail how the precooled atoms are efficiently loaded into the two-wire guide. We present a detailed experimental study of the motional properties of the atoms in the guide and the relationship between the location of the guide and the vertical bias field. This two-wire guide with vertical bias field can be used to realize large area atom interferometer.     

Dependence of in—tube doping on the radius and helicity of single—wall carbon nanotubes

Using the Lennard－Jones interaction potential between the impurity atom and carbon atom, we have studied the dependence of in-tube impurity doping on the radius of a single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT), as well as its helicity. The obtained results show that the radius of the most stably doped SWNT is different for different kinds of impurity atoms. This is useful for producing the required doped SWNT. In addition, it is found that the helicity of tube has a strong effect on the potential energy of the atoms doped in the SWNT.     

Ultra-High Efficiency Magnetic Transport of SZRb Atoms in a Single Chamber Bose-Einstein Condensation Apparatus

We report the ultra-high efficiency transport of cold ST Ftb atoms using a moving magnetic quadrupole potential generated by three overlapping pairs of fixed coils. The transfer etticiency is better than 97%, which is the highest ever reported to our knowledge. The temperature increase due to heating is less than IO #K when the initial cloud temperature is llO#K. Our setup is similar to the magnetic transferring belt design [Phys. ftev. A 63 （2001）031401（R）], although it is simpler because the push coil is not required. We use it to transport atoms away from a magneto-optical trap to very close to the wall of the glass cell, facilitating future experiments employing three-dimensional optical lattices, high resolution in-situ imaging, and magnetic Feshbach resonances.     

Directly Trapping Atoms in a U-Shaped Magneto-Optical Trap Using a Mini Atom Chip

We experimentally demonstrate the trapping of ^85Rb atoms directly on a chip-size U-shaped magneto-optical trap （U-MOT）. The trap includes a U-shaped wire on the chip, two bias magnetic field coils and laser beams. The capture volume of the U-MOT is theoretically calculated, and the trap is experimentally realized. With 2 A current applied to the U-shaped wire and 2-Gauss horizontal bias field, more than 2 × 10^6 atoms are trapped. In contrast with an ordinary mirror-MOT, this U-MOT captures atoms directly from the background, thus the trap size is greatly reduced. Based on this mini trap scheme, it is possible to realize a chip-size atom trap array for quantum information processing.     

First-principles calculation of transport property in nano-devices under an external magnetic field

The mesoscopic quantum interference phenomenon （QIP） can be observed and behaves as the oscillation of conductance in nano-devices when the external magnetic field changes. Excluding the factor of impurities or defects, specific QIP is determined by the sample geometry. We have improved a first-principles method based on the matrix Green＇s function and the density functional theory to simulate the transport behaviour of such systems under a magnetic field. We have studied two kinds of QIP： universal conductance fluctuation （UCF） and Aharonov Bohm effect （A-B effect）. We find that the amplitude of UCF is much smaller than the previous theoretical prediction. We have discussed the origin of difference and concluded that due to the failure of ergodic hypothesis, the ensemble statistics is not applicable, and the conductance fluctuation is determined by the flux-dependent density of states （DOSs）. We have also studied the relation between the UCF and the structure of sample. For a specific structure, an atomic circle, the A-B effect is observed and the origin of the oscillation is also discussed.     

Enhancement of signal-to-noise ratio of ultracold polar NaCs molecular spectra by phase locking detection

We report a method of high-sensitively detecting the weak signal in photoassociation(PA) spectra of ultracold NaCs molecules by phase sensitive-demodulated trap-loss spectra of Na atoms from a photomultiplier tube. We find that the signal-to-noise ratio(SNR) of the PA spectra is strongly dependent on the integration time and the sensitivity of the lockin amplifier, and our results show reasonable agreement with the theoretical analyses of the SNR with the demodulation parameters. Meanwhile, we investigate the effect of the interaction time of the PA laser with the colliding Na–Cs atom pairs on the SNR of the PA spectra. The atom loss rate is dependent on both the PA-induced atom loss and the loading of the MOT. The high-sensitive detection of the excited ultracold NaCs molecules lays a solid foundation for further study of the formation and application of ultracold NaCs molecules.     

Production and guidance of pulsed atomic beams on chip

We demonstrated two experimental methods of producing and guiding pulsed atomic beams on chip. One is to trap atoms first in a U-type magneto-optical trap on the chip, then transfer them to the magnetic guide field and push them simultaneously by a continuous force from the power imbalance of the magneto-optical trap laser beams hence the pulsed cold atom beams are produced and move along the magnetic guide to the destination. The other is to trap atoms directly by a H-type magneto-optical trap, then push them to make them move along the magnetic guide field, thus high rate cold atom beams can be produced and guided on the chip.     

Simple and efficient magnetic transport of cold atoms using moving coils for the production of Bose–Einstein condensation

We have developed a simple magnetic transport method for the efficient loading of cold atoms into a magnetic trap. Laser-cooled ⁸⁷Rb atoms in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) are transferred to a quadrupole magnetic trap and they are then transported as far as 50 cm by moving magnetic trap coils with a low excess heating of atoms. A light induced atom desorption technique helps to reduce the collision loss during the magnetic transport. Using this method, we can load cold ⁸⁷Rb atoms into a magnetic trap in an ultra high vacuum chamber with high efficiency, and we can produce ⁸⁷Rb condensate atoms. PACS 39.25.+k; 32.80.Pj; 03.75.Pp     

Direct loading of atoms from a macroscopic quadrupole magnetic trap into a microchip trap

We demonstrate the direct loading of cold atoms into a microchip 2-mm Z-trap, where the evaporative cooling can be performed efficiently, from a macroscopic quadrupole magnetic trap with a high loading efficiency. The macroscopic quadrupole magnetic trap potential is designed to be moveable by controlling the currents of the two pairs of anti-Helmholtz coils. The cold atoms are initially prepared in a standard six-beam magneto-optical trap and loaded into the macroscopic quadrupole magnetic trap, and then transported to the atom chip surface by moving the macroscopic trap potential. By means of a three-dimensional absorption imaging system, we are able to optimize the position alignment of the atom cloud in the macroscopic trap and the microchip Z-shaped wire. Consequently, with a proper magnetic transfer scheme, we load the cold atoms into the microchip Z-trap directly and efficiently. The loading efficiency is measured to be about 50%.This approach can be used to generate appropriate ultracold atoms sources, for example, for a magnetically guided atom interferometer based on atom chip.     

Long, narrow all-light atom guide

A 1-mm-diameter all-light atom guide capable of transporting ultracold atoms tens of centimeters with high efficiency is described. We made the atom tunnel, a dark hollow beam that is blue detuned from resonance, by passing a few tens of milliwatts of energy from a TEM(00) diode laser beam through an optical sequence composed of three axicons and a simple lens. We demonstrate transport of 10(8)Cs atoms approximately 20 cm with minimal heating. We show that it is possible for one to control the direction and speed of the atoms in the tunnel by varying the detuning of the tunnel beam.     

Atom chip based fast production of Bose–Einstein condensate

We have developed a simple method for the fast and efficient production of a Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) on an atom chip. By using a standard six-beam magneto-optical trap and light-induced atom desorption for loading, 3×10^{7 87}Rb atoms are collected within 1 s and loaded into a small-volume magnetic potential of the chip with high efficiency. With this method, a BEC of 3×10³ atoms is realized within a total time of 3 s. We can realize a condensate of up to 2×10⁴ atoms by reducing three-body collisions. The present system can be used as a fast and high-flux coherent matter-wave source for an atom interferometer. PACS 03.75.Be; 32.80.Pj; 39.25.+k     

Ultracold molecule production via a resonant oscillating magnetic field

A novel atom-molecule conversion technique has been investigated. Ultracold 85Rb atoms sitting in a dc magnetic field near the 155 G Feshbach resonance are associated by applying a small sinusoidal oscillation to the magnetic field. There is resonant atom to molecule conversion when the modulation frequency closely matches the molecular binding energy. We observe that the atom to molecule conversion efficiency depends strongly on the frequency, amplitude, and duration of the applied modulation and on the phase space density of the sample. This technique offers high conversion efficiencies without the necessity of crossing or closely approaching the Feshbach resonance and allows precise spectroscopic measurements. Efficiencies of 55% have been observed for pure Bose-Einstein condensates.     

Relevance of sub-surface chip layers for the lifetime of magnetically trapped atoms

We investigate the lifetime of magnetically trapped atoms above a planar, layered atom chip structure. Numerical calculations of the thermal magnetic noise spectrum are performed, based on the exact magnetic Green function and multi layer reflection coefficients. We have performed lifetime measurements where the center of a side guide trap is laterally shifted with respect to the current carrying wire using additional bias fields. Comparing the experiment to theory, we find a fair agreement and demonstrate that for a chip whose topmost layer is metallic, the magnetic noise depends essentially on the thickness of that layer, as long as the layers below have a much smaller conductivity; essentially the same magnetic noise would be obtained with a metallic membrane suspended in vacuum. Based on our theory we give general scaling laws of how to reduce the effect of surface magnetic noise on the trapped atoms.     

Trapping of ultracold atoms in a 3He/4He dilution refrigerator

We describe the preparation of ultracold 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 cryostat meets the requirements for cold atom experiments, specifically in terms of operating a magneto-optical trap, magnetic traps and magnetic transport under ultrahigh vacuum conditions. The presented system is a step toward the creation of a quantum hybrid system combining ultracold atoms and solid-state quantum devices.     

Realization of a superconducting atom chip

We have trapped rubidium atoms in the magnetic field produced by a superconducting atom chip operated at liquid helium temperatures. Up to 8.2x10(5) atoms are held in a Ioffe-Pritchard trap at a distance of 440 microm from the chip surface, with a temperature of 40 microK. The trap lifetime reaches 115 s at low atomic densities. These results open the way to the exploration of atom-surface interactions and coherent atomic transport in a superconducting environment, whose properties are radically different from normal metals at room temperature.     

Sputtered atom transport processes

It is noted that the transport of sputtered atoms can be described in terms of three pressure regimes: low pressure, where no collisions occur during the trajectory of the atom; intermediate pressure, where the atom undergoes perhaps several collisions but does not completely thermalize; and high pressure, where the sputtered atom effectively stops and begins a density-gradient-driven conventional gas-phase diffusion process. The intermediate region is the most complicated to model, given the dependence of the energy on the collision cross-section, the various distributions in energy and angle of the sputtered atoms, and the extended nature of most sputtering sources. Experimental studies reported here have measured the transport probability by observing the distribution of atoms around a chamber following sputtering. The transport is found to be quite dependent on the mass of both the sputtered atom and the background gas, as well as the particle density and geometry of the vacuum system. A strong effect of sputtered-atom-induced gas rarefaction has also been observed. This results in power-dependent transport of sputtered atoms, and as a result may also lead to power-dependent compositional variation in alloy depositions. The general result is that high discharge powers tend to correlate with lower power operation at a significantly lower operating pressure than had been assumed