Production of ~(87)Rb Bose–Einstein Condensate in an Asymmetric Crossed Optical Dipole Trap

We report the production of ~(87)Rb Bose–Einstein condensate in an asymmetric crossed optical dipole trap(ACODT) without the need of an additional dimple laser. In our experiment, the ACODT is formed by two laser beams with different radii to achieve efficient capture and rapid evaporation of laser cooled atoms. Compared to the cooling procedure in a magnetic trap, the atoms are firstly laser cooled and then directly loaded into an ACODT without the pre-evaporative cooling process. In order to determine the optimal parameters for evaporation cooling, we optimize the power ratio of the two beams and the evaporation time to maximize the final atom number left in the ACODT. By loading about 6 × 10~5 laser cooled atoms in the ACODT, we obtain a pure Bose–Einstein condensate with about 1.4 × 10~4 atoms after 19 s evaporation. Additionally, we demonstrate that the fringe-type noises in optical density distributions can be reduced via principal component analysis, which correspondingly improves the reliability of temperature measurement.     

Simple and robust method for rapid cooling of ~(87)Rb to quantum degeneracy

We demonstrate a simple and fast way to produce ~(87)Rb Bose–Einstein condensates. A digital optical phase lock loop(OPLL) board is introduced to lock and adjust the frequency of the trap laser, which simplifies the optical design and improves the experimental efficiency. We collect atoms in a magneto-optical trap, then compress the cloud and cut off hot atoms by rf knife in a magnetic quadrupole trap. The atom clouds are then transferred into a spatially mode-matched optical dipole trap by lowering the quadrupole field gradient. Our system reliably produces a condensate with 2 × 10~6 atoms every7.5 s. The compact optical design and rapid preparation speed of our system will open the gate for mobile quantum sensing.     

Efficient loading of ultracold sodium atoms in an optical dipole trap from a high power fiber laser

We report on a research of the loading of ultracold sodium atoms in an optical dipole trap,generated by two beams from a high power fiber laser.The effects of optical trap light power on atomic number,temperature and phase space density are experimentally investigated.A simple theory is proposed and it is in good accordance with the experimental results of the loaded atomic numbers.In a general estimation,an optimal value for each beam with a power of 9 W from the fiber laser is achieved.Our results provide a further understanding of the loading process of optical dipole trap and laid the foundation for generation of a sodium Bose–Einstein condensation with an optical dipole trap.     

Expansion dynamics of a spherical Bose–Einstein condensate

We experimentally and theoretically observe the expansion behaviors of a spherical Bose–Einstein condensate. A rubidium condensate is produced in an isotropic optical dipole trap with an asphericity of 0.037. We measure the variation of the condensate size in the expansion process after switching off the trap. The free expansion of the condensate is isotropic,which is different from that of the condensate usually produced in the anisotropic trap. We derive an analytic solution of the expansion behavior based on the spherical symmetry, allowing a quantitative comparison with the experimental measurement. The interaction energy of the condensate is gradually converted into the kinetic energy during the expansion and after a long time the kinetic energy saturates at a constant value. We obtain the interaction energy of the condensate in the trap by probing the long-time expansion velocity, which agrees with the theoretical calculation. This work paves a way to explore novel quantum states of ultracold gases with the spherical symmetry.     

Evaporative cooling of 87Rb atoms into Bose-Einstein condensate in an optical dipole trap

We create a Bose-Einstein condensate(BEC) of 87Rb atoms by runaway evaporative cooling in an optical trap.Two crossed infrared laser beams with a wavelength of 1064 nm are used to form an optical dipole trap.After precooling the atom samples in a quadrupole-Ioffe configuration(QUIC) trap under 1.5 μK by radio-frequency(RF) evaporative cooling,the samples are transferred into the center of the glass cell,then loaded into the optical dipole trap with 800 ms.The pure condensate with up to 1.5×105 atoms is obtained over 1.17 s by lowering the power of the trap beams.     

Quantum Entanglement of Many Distant Bose–Einstein Condensates in an Optical Lattice by Interference

We propose a scheme to generate maximally entangled states of two distant Bose–Einstein condensates,which are trapped in different potential wells of a one-dimensional optical lattice. We show how such maximally entangled state can be used to test the Bell inequality and realize quantum teleportation of a Bose–Einstein condensate state. The scheme proposed here is based on the interference of Bose-Einstein condensates leaking out from different potential wells of optical lattice. It is briefly pointed out that this scheme can be extended to generate maximally entangled Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger(GHZ) states of 2m(m 1) distant Bose–Einstein condensates.     

Improved atom number with a dual color magneto-optical trap

We demonstrate a novel dual color magneto–optical trap (MOT), which uses two sets of overlapping laser beams to cool and trap 87 Rb atoms. The volume of cold cloud in the dual color MOT is strongly dependent on the frequency difference of the laser beams and can be significantly larger than that in the normal MOT with single frequency MOT beams. Our experiment shows that the dual color MOT has the same loading rate as the normal MOT, but much longer loading time, leading to threefold increase in the number of trapped atoms. This indicates that the larger number is caused by reduced light induced loss. The dual color MOT is very useful in experiments where both high vacuum level and large atom number are required, such as single chamber quantum memory and Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC) experiments. Compared to the popular dark spontaneous-force optical trap (dark SPOT) technique, our approach is technically simpler and more suitable to low power laser systems.     

Manipulating transition of a two-component Bose–Einstein condensate with a weak δ-shaped laser

We theoretically study the transition dynamics of a two-component Bose–Einstein condensate driven by a train of weak δ-shaped laser pulses. We find that the atomic system can experience peculiar resonant transition even under weak optical excitations and derive the resonance condition by the perturbation method. Employing this mechanism, we propose a scheme to obtain an atomic ensemble with desired odd/even atom number and also a scheme to prepare a nonclassical state of the many-body system with fixed atom number.     

Production of 87Rb Bose-Einstein condensates in a hybrid trap

We report a rapid evaporative cooling method using a hybrid trap which is composed of a quadrupole magnetic trap and a one-beam optical dipole trap. It contains two kinds of evaporative coolings to reach the quantum degeneracy: initial radio-frequency (RF) enforced evaporative cooling in the quadrupole magnetic trap and further runaway evaporative cooling in the optical dipole trap. The hybrid trap does not require a very high power laser such as that in the traditional pure optical trap, but still has a deep trap depth and a large trap volume, and has better optical access than the normal magnetic trap like the quadrupole-Ioffe-configuration (QUIC) cloverleaf trap. A high trap frequency can be easily realized in the hybrid trap to enhance the elastic collision rate and shorten the evaporative cooling time. In our experiment, pure Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) with about 1 × 105 atoms can be realized in 6 s evaporative cooling in the optical dipole trap.     

Dynamical stability of dipolar condensate in a parametrically modulated one-dimensional optical lattice

We study the stabilization properties of dipolar Bose–Einstein condensate in a deep one-dimensional optical lattice with an additional external parametrically modulated harmonic trap potential. Through both analytical and numerical methods, we solve a dimensionless nonlocal nonlinear discrete Gross–Pitaevskii equation with both the short-range contact interaction and the long-range dipole–dipole interaction. It is shown that, the stability of dipolar condensate in modulated deep optical lattice can be controled by coupled effects of the contact interaction, the dipolar interaction and the external modulation. The system can be stabilized when the dipolar interaction, the contact interaction, the average strength of potential and the ratio of amplitude to frequency of the modulation satisfy a critical condition. In addition, the breather state, the diffused state and the attractive-interaction-induced-trapped state are predicted. The dipolar interaction and the external modulation of the lattice play important roles in stabilizing the condensate.     

Creation of ^174Yb Bose-Einstein Condensates in a Crossed FORT

Quantum degenerate gases of alkaline-earth-like atoms are unique systems used for quantum simulation, quantum computing and studies of quantum phase transitions. We report an all-optical formation of Bose Einstein eondensates of ytterbium atoms. About 106 atoms of ^174Yb are transferred to a far-off-resonance optical trap （FORT） and then cooled by evaporative cooling. Phase transition occurs at the critical temperature of 520 nK. A pure condensate containing approximately 2 × 10^4 atoms has been obtained in the crossed FORT, with an atomic peak density of -8 × 10^14 cm^-3. The condensate lifetime exceeds 1 s.     

Raman sideband cooling of rubidium atoms in optical lattice

We develop a simple and practical scheme to apply sideband cooling to a cloud of rubidium atoms. A sample containing 4 × 10~(70) ~(87)Rb is trapped in a far red detuned optical lattice. Through optimizing the relevant parameters, i.e., laser detuning, magnetic field, polarization, and duration time, a temperature around 1.5 μK and phase space density close to 1/500 are achieved. Compared with polarization gradient cooling, the temperature decreases by around one order of magnitude. This technique could be used in high precision measurement such as atomic clocks and atom interferometer. It could also serve as a precooling means before evaporation cooling in a dipole trap, and may be a promising method of achieving quantum degeneracy with purely optical means.     

Vortices in dipolar Bose–Einstein condensates in synthetic magnetic field

We study the formation of vortices in a dipolar Bose–Einstein condensate in a synthetic magnetic field by numerically solving the Gross–Pitaevskii equation. The formation process depends on the dipole strength, the rotating frequency, the potential geometry, and the orientation of the dipoles. We make an extensive comparison with vortices created by a rotating trap, especially focusing on the issues of the critical rotating frequency and the vortex number as a function of the rotating frequency. We observe that a higher rotating frequency is needed to generate a large number of vortices and the anisotropic interaction manifests itself as a perceptible difference in the vortex formation. Furthermore, a large dipole strength or aspect ratio also can increase the number of vortices effectively. In particular, we discuss the validity of the Feynman rule.     

Production of Rubidium Bose-Einstein Condensate in an Optically Plugged Magnetic Quadrupole Trap

We experimentally produce the rubidium Bose-Einstein condensate in an optically plugged magnetic quadrupole trap.A far blue-detuned focused laser beam with a wavelength of 532 nm is plugged in the center of the magnetic quadrupole trap to increase the number of trapped atoms and to suppress the heating.An rf evaporative cooling in the magneto-optical hybrid trap is applied to decrease the atom temperature into degeneracy.The atom number of the condensate is 1.2(0.4)× 10~5 and the temperature is below 100 nK.We also study characteristic behaviors of the condensate,such as phase space density,condensate fraction and anisotropic expansion.     

Production of dual species Bose–Einstein condensates of ~(39)K and ~(87)Rb

We report the production of~(39) K and~(87) Rb Bose–Einstein condensates(BECs) in the lowest hyperfine states |F =1, m_F = 1 simultaneously. We collect atoms in bright/dark magneto-optical traps(MOTs) of~(39) K/~(87) Rb to overcome the light-assisted losses of~(39) K atoms. Gray molasses cooling on the D1 line of the~(39) K is used to effectively increase the phase density, which improves the loading efficiency of~(39) K into the quadrupole magnetic trap. Simultaneously, the normal molasses is employed for~(87) Rb. After the microwave evaporation cooling on~(87) Rb in the optically plugged magnetic trap,the atoms mixture is transferred to a crossed optical dipole trap, where the collisional properties of the two species in different combinations of the hyperfine states are studied. The dual species BECs of~(39) K and~(87) Rb are obtained by further evaporative cooling in an optical dipole trap at a magnetic field of 372.6 G with the background repulsive interspecies scattering length a_(KRb)= 34 a_0(a_0 is the Bohr radius) and the intraspecies scattering length a_K= 20.05 a_0.     

Optimization of a magneto–optic trap using nanofibers

We experimentally demonstrate a reliable method based on a nanofiber to optimize the number of cold atoms in a magneto–optical trap(MOT) and to monitor the MOT in real time.The atomic fluorescence is collected by a nanofiber with subwavelength diameter of about 400 nm.The MOT parameters are experimentally adjusted in order to match the maximum number of cold atoms provided by the fluorescence collected by the nanofiber.The maximum number of cold atoms is obtained when the intensities of the cooling and re-pumping beams are about 23.5 mW/cm~2 and 7.1 mW/cm~2,respectively; the detuning of the cooling beam is-13.0 MHz, and the axial magnetic gradient is about 9.7 Gauss/cm.We observe a maximum photon counting rate of nearly(4.5 ± 0.1) × 10~5 counts/s.The nanofiber–atom system can provide a powerful and flexible tool for sensitive atom detection and for monitoring atom–matter coupling.It can be widely used from quantum optics to quantum precision measurement.     

Superfluid-Mott-Insulator Transition in an Optical Lattice with Adjustable Ensemble-Averaged Filling Factors

We study the quantum phase transition from a superfluid to a Mott insulator of ultracold atoms in a threedimensional optical lattice with adjustable filling factors. Based on the density-adjustable Bose–Einstein condensate we prepared, the excitation spectrum in the superfluid and the Mott insulator regime is measured with different ensemble-averaged filling factors. We show that for the superfluid phase, the center of the excitation spectrum is positively correlated with the ensemble-averaged filling factor, indicating a higher sound speed of the system. For the Mott insulator phase, the discrete feature of the excitation spectrum becomes less pronounced as the ensemble-averaged filling factor increases, implying that it is harder for the system to enter the Mott insulator regime with higher filling factors. The ability to manipulate the filling factor affords further potential in performing quantum simulation with cold atoms trapped in optical lattices.     

Production of Degenerate Fermi Gases of ~6Li Atoms in an Optical Dipole Trap

We report the experimental production of degenerate Fermi gases of 6 Li atoms in an optical dipole trap.The gray-molasses technique is carried out to decrease the atomic temperature to 57 μK,which facilitates the efficient loading of cold atoms into the optical dipole trap.The Fermi degeneracy is achieved by evaporative cooling of a two-spin mixture of ~6 Li atoms on the Feshbach resonance.The degenerate atom number per spin is 3.5×10~4,and the reduced temperature T/T_F is as low as 0.1,where T_F is the Fermi temperature of the non-interacting Fermi gas.We also observe the anisotropic expansion of the atom cloud in the strongly interacting regime.     

Generations of dark hollow beams and their applications in laser cooling of atoms and all optical-type Bose－Einstein condensation

We report on a new experimental result to generate dark hollow beams by using a geometric optical method. We propose two new methods to produce focused and localized hollow laser beams by using π-phase plates. Using Monte-Carlo simulations, we have studied the Sisyphus cooling of alkali atoms in pyramidal hollow beam gravito-optical traps. We discuss some potential applications of the dark hollow beams in atom optics and the preparation of an all optically-cooled and optically-trapped atomic Bose－Einstein condensation (BEC). Our research shows that an ultracold atomic sample with a temperature of ～ 2μK can be obtained in the pyramidal hollow beam dipole trap and an all optical-type BEC may be realized in a far blue-detuned, hollow beam trap.     

Trapped Bose–Einstein condensates with quadrupole–quadrupole interactions

We numerically investigate the ground-state properties of a trapped Bose–Einstein condensate with quadrupole–quadrupole interaction.We quantitatively characterize the deformations of the condensate induced by the quadrupolar interaction.We also map out the stability diagram of the condensates and explore the trap geometry dependence of the stability.