Coherent control of ultracold molecule dynamics in a magneto-optical trap by use of chirped femtosecond laser pulses

We have studied the effects of chirped femtosecond laser pulses on the formation of ultracold molecules in a Rb magneto-optical trap. We have found that application of chirped femtosecond pulses suppressed the formation of (85)Rb and (87)Rb(2) a(3)sigma(+)(u) molecules in contrast to comparable nonchirped pulses, cw illumination, and background formation rates. Variation of the amount of chirp indicated that this suppression is coherent in nature, suggesting that coherent control is likely to be useful for manipulating the dynamics of ultracold quantum molecular gases.     

超冷单原子分子阵列

用光镊形成光阱囚禁单个原子、用激光将单个原子冷却到基态形成超冷原子、将超冷原子相干合成单个超冷分子、将单原子分子重排串成丰富多样的超冷单原子分子阵列,这就构成了精密相干可控的多粒子量子系统,为多种前沿科学研究与技术发展提供难得的量子平台.文章介绍近年来在单原子量子态高保真操控、异核原子量子纠缠、原子一分子耦合态相干控制...     

Production of ultracold, polar RbCs* molecules via photoassociation

We have produced ultracold, polar RbCs* molecules via photoassociation in a laser-cooled mixture of Rb and Cs atoms. Using a model of the RbCs* molecular interaction which reproduces the observed rovibrational structure, we infer decay rates in our experiments into deeply bound X(1)Sigma(+) ground-state RbCs vibrational levels as high as 5 x 10(5) s(-1) per level. Population in such deeply bound levels could be efficiently transferred to the vibrational ground state using a single stimulated Raman transition, opening the possibility to create large samples of stable, ultracold polar molecules.     

Direct frequency comb measurements of absolute optical frequencies and population transfer dynamics

A phase-stabilized femtosecond laser comb is directly used for high-resolution spectroscopy and absolute optical frequency measurements of one- and two-photon transitions in laser-cooled 87Rb atoms. Absolute atomic transition frequencies, such as the 5S1/2 F=2-->7S1/2 F"=2 two-photon resonance measured at 788,794 768,921 (44) kHz, are determined without a priori knowledge about their values. Detailed dynamics of population transfer driven by a sequence of pulses are uncovered and taken into account for the measurement of the 5P states via resonantly enhanced two-photon transitions.     

Coherent transfer of photoassociated molecules into the rovibrational ground state

We report on the direct conversion of laser-cooled 41K and 87Rb atoms into ultracold 41K87Rb molecules in the rovibrational ground state via photoassociation followed by stimulated Raman adiabatic passage. High-resolution spectroscopy based on the coherent transfer revealed the hyperfine structure of weakly bound molecules in an unexplored region. Our results show that a rovibrationally pure sample of ultracold ground-state molecules is achieved via the all-optical association of laser-cooled atoms, opening possibilities to coherently manipulate a wide variety of molecules.     

实现粒子布居高效转移的两种激光脉冲时序方案的理论研究

基于最近实验工作的结果(2010 Nat.Phys.6 265)即Danzl等在五能级M型级联系统中分别利用连续型和四光子型受激拉曼绝热通道(stimulated Raman adiabatic passage,STIRAP)实现了将Feshbach态上弱束缚的Cs2有效转移到其振转基态,本文理论研究了两种STIRAP方案实施的基本条件,解析推导系统的准暗态、绝热参数的具体形式并分析其存在的必要性,详细讨论布居转移效率对相关参量的依赖关系.通过比较激光脉冲的时序、中间能级的失谐量和自发辐射率、光场脉冲的幅值等诸多参量的不同影响,讨论方案各自的优缺点,找到了参量优化的方法以实现最高效的粒子布居数转移.与前人的实验结果相比,本文研究表明,实验观测值(约0.60)均低于理论预估最佳值(约0.97)的主要原因是受限于激发态能级的自发辐射率过大.该理论方案还可用于制备量子纠缠态,在量子逻辑门操控、量子信息传输等领域都有潜在的应用.     

Investigation of ultracold atoms and molecules in a dark magneto-optical trap

In this paper,ultracold atoms and molecules in a dark magneto-optical trap(MOT) are studied via depumping the cesium cold atoms into the dark hyperfine ground state.The collision rate is reduced to 0.45s-1 and the density of the atoms is increased to 5.6×1011cm-3 when the fractional population of the atoms in the bright hyperfine ground state is as low as 0.15.The vibrational spectra of the ultracold cesium molecules are also studied in a standard MOT and in a dark MOT separately.The experimental results are analyzed by using the perturbative quantum approach.     

Ultracold triplet molecules in the rovibrational ground state

We report here on the production of an ultracold gas of tightly bound Rb2 triplet molecules in the rovibrational ground state, close to quantum degeneracy. This is achieved by optically transferring weakly bound Rb2 molecules to the absolute lowest level of the ground triplet potential with a transfer efficiency of about 90%. The transfer takes place in a 3D optical lattice which traps a sizeable fraction of the tightly bound molecules with a lifetime exceeding 200 ms.     

Rb(5D_J)+H_2→RbH+H反应截面的测定

利用激光泵浦一吸收技术,研究了在样品池中(T=385 K,H2气压400 Pa)的Rb(5DJ)+H2→RbH+H[x1∑+(υ"=0)]+H光化学反应过程.双光子激发Rb-H2混合蒸气中Rb原子至52D态,荧光中除有泵浦能级发生的直接荧光外,还包含由精细结构碰撞转移产生的敏化荧光,RbH分子是由5D原子与H2间的三体碰撞反应产生的.利用852 nm激光扫描RbH X1∑+(υ"=0→υ'=17)吸收带,△I'和△I"分别表示泵浦5D3/2和5D5/2时的吸收光强.泵浦室温下的纯Rb蒸气至5D3/2或5D5/2态,由于在低密度下52D精细结构混合可略去,故由5D3/2→5P1/2与5D5/2→5P3/2的荧光比得到泵浦率比.解速率方程组,得到5D3/2→5D5/2和5D→5D以外态的碰撞转移截面分别是9.8×10-16和2.0×10-16cm2,Rb(5DJ)+H2→RbH+H的反应截面分别是5.4×10-17(J=3/2)和2.3×10-17cm2(J=5/2),5D3/2与H2的反应活动性大于5D5/2,这与其他实验结果是一致的.     

Inserting single Cs atoms into an ultracold Rb gas

We report on the controlled insertion of individual Cs atoms into an ultracold Rb gas at ≈400 nK. This requires one to combine the techniques necessary for cooling, trapping and manipulating single laser cooled atoms around the Doppler temperature with an experiment to produce ultracold degenerate quantum gases. In our approach, both systems are prepared in separated traps and then combined. Our results pave the way for coherent interaction between a quantum gas and a single or few neutral atoms of another species.     

Rb(7S-5D)-H2,He能量转移截面与温度的关系

脉冲激光双光子激发Rb(5S)态到Rb(5D)或Rb(7S)态,在样品池条件下,利用原子荧光光谱方法测量了Rb(7S-5D)-H2,He碰撞能量转移截面与池温的关系.利用三能级模型的速率方程分析.通过测量在不同H2或He密度下的直接荧光与转移荧光的时间积分强度比,在353～493 K温度范围内得到了Rb(7S-5D)-H2,He的反应与非反应碰撞能量转移截面.对于Rb(7S)+H2→Rb(5D)+H2,其转移截面随温度的增加而减小,而其逆过程的转移截面则随温度的增加而增加.对于与He的碰撞,在不同温度下7S-5D的转移截面均符合细致平衡原理,7S,5D态与H2的碰撞速率系数是反应与非反应速率系数之和,利用实验数据可以分别确定反应与非反应截面,7S态的平均反应截面与5D态平均反应截面之比约为1.5.Rb(7S)与H2的反应活动性大于Rb(5D).     

激发态Rb原子间的碰撞能量转移

脉冲激光器激发Rb原子到5P_1/2态,通过碰撞能量转移Rb(5P_1/2)+Rb(5S_1/2)Rb(5P_3/2)+Rb(5S_1/2)产生5P_3/2原子,研究了5P_1/2+5P_1/2,5P_3/2+5P_3/2,5P_1/2+5P_3/2的碰撞能量合并产生态的过程。5P_1/2态原子密度利用Rb空心阴极灯通过光学吸收方法得到,而5P_3/2态密度通过5P_3/25S_1/2(D2线)与5P_1/25S_1/2(D₁线)跃迁的荧光比得到。因为5P_3/2+5P_3/2或5P_1/2+5P_3/2的能量和与5D态的能量差远小于5P_1/2+5P_1/2与5D态的能量差,因此5P_3/2+5P_3/2,5P_1/2+5P_3/2的过程将影响5P_1/2+5P_1/2的测量结果。由于精细结构能量转移的时间比5D态寿命小得多,故5P_1/2+5P_1/2,5P_1/2+5P_3/2和5P_3/2+5P_3/2产生的5D5P荧光是同时产生的。在不同的池温下测量了积分荧光信号的相对强度,5P态原子有效寿命由辐射陷获的理论得到,结合激发态原子密度得到了5P_1/2+5P_1/2,5P_1/2+5P_3/2和5P_3/2+5P_3/2碰撞能量合并截面分别为7.810-15,2.9×10-14和3.1×10-14 cm2。结果表明5P_1/2+5P_3/2与5P_3/2+5P_3/2产生5D_3/2态的截面基本是相等的。     

Production and state-selective detection of ultracold RbCs molecules

Using resonance-enhanced two-photon ionization, we detect ultracold, metastable RbCs molecules formed in their lowest triplet state a (3)Sigma(+) via photoassociation in a laser-cooled mixture of 85Rb and 133Cs atoms. We obtain extensive bound-bound excitation spectra of these molecules, which provide detailed information about their vibrational distribution, as well as spectroscopic data on several RbCs molecular states including a (3)Sigma(+), (2) (3)Sigma(+), and (1) (1)Pi. Analysis of this data allows us to predict strong transitions from observed levels to the absolute vibronic ground state of RbCs, potentially allowing the production of stable, ultracold polar molecules at rates in excess of 10(6) s(-1).     

Specular reflection of very slow metastable neon atoms from a solid surface

An ultracold narrow atomic beam of metastable neon in the 1s3[(2s)(5)3p:1P0] state is used to study specular reflection of atoms from a solid surface at extremely slow incident velocity. The reflectivity on a silicon (1,0,0) surface and a BK7 glass surface is measured at the normal incident velocity between 1 mm/s and 3 cm/s. The reflectivity above 30% is observed at about 1 mm/s. The observed velocity dependence is explained semiquantitatively by the quantum reflection that is caused by the attractive Casimir-van der Waals potential of the atom-surface interaction.     

Coherent excitation of Rydberg atoms in an ultracold gas

We demonstrate two schemes for the coherent excitation of Rydberg atoms in an ultracold gas of rubidium atoms employing the three-level ladder system 5S_1/2-5P_3/2-n?_j. In the first approach rapid adiabatic passage with pulsed laser fields yields Rydberg excitation probabilities of 90% in the center of the laser focus. In a second experiment two-photon Rydberg excitation with continuous-wave fields is applied which results in Rabi oscillations between the ground and Rydberg state. The experiments represent a prerequisite for the control of interactions in ultracold Rydberg gases and the application of ultracold Rydberg gases for quantum information processing.     

Rb(5PJ)与He,N2的碰撞精细结构混合和猝灭

在气体样品池条件下,研究了Rb(5PJ) (He,N2)碰撞能量转移过程.用调频半导体激光器激发Rb原子至Rb(5P3/2)态,在不同的He或N2气压下,测量了直接5P3/2→5S1/2荧光和转移5P1/2→5S1/2荧光.对于Rb(5PJ)与He的碰撞,只发生精细结构转移(略去碰撞猝灭效应),电子态能量仅能转移为He原子的平动能.在与N2的碰撞中,向分子振转态的转移是重要的.本实验中,Rb的密度为4.5×1011 cm-3,由辐射陷获理论得到5P1/2→5S1/2的有效辐射率为2.47×107 s-1.利用速率方程分析,可以得到碰撞转移速率系数,对于He,5P3/2→5S1/2转移速率系数kHe21=2.61×10 12 cm3·s.对于N2,测量5PJ He和5PJ N2两种情况下直接荧光与敏化荧光的相对强度比,利用最小二乘法确定5Pa/2→5S1/2转移速率系数kN212=2.36×10-11 cm3·s,5PJ态猝灭速率系数kN2=1.44×10-11 cm3·s-1.由实验结果证实了Cs-N2主要是直线式碰撞传能机制,与其他实验结果进行了比较.     

磁光阱中超冷钠-铯原子碰撞的实验研究

研究了磁光阱中异核超冷钠铯原子的碰撞机理, 测量了超冷钠原子的碰撞损失率, 得到了钠-铯原子的碰撞损失系数β_Na-Cs与钠原子俘获光强度之间的关系. 利用多普勒模型计算了不同俘获光强度下的钠原子磁光阱的阱深, 得到了临界光强的理论值, 与实验结果符合得较好.     

Coherent transients in the femtosecond photoassociation of ultracold molecules

We demonstrate the photoassociation of ultracold rubidium dimers using coherent femtosecond pulses. Starting from a cloud of ultracold rubidium atoms, electronically excited rubidium molecules are formed with shaped photoassociation pump pulses. The excited state molecules are projected with a time-delayed probe pulse onto molecular ion states which are detected in a mass spectrometer. Coherent transient oscillations of the excited state population are observed in the wings of the pump pulse, in agreement with the time-dependent solution of the Schr?dinger equation of the excitation process.     

Formation of ultracold RbCs molecules by photoassociation

The formation of ultracold metastable RbCs molecules is observed in a double species magneto-optical trap through photoassociation below the ⁸⁵Rb(5S_1/2) + ¹³³Cs(6P_3/2) dissociation limit followed by spontaneous emission. The molecules are detected by resonance enhanced two-photon ionization. Using accurate quantum chemistry calculations of the potential energy curves and transition dipole moment, we interpret the observed photoassociation process as occurring at short internuclear distance, in contrast with most previous cold atom photoassociation studies. The vibrational levels excited by photoassociation belong to the 5th 0⁺ or the 4th 0^? electronic states correlated to the Rb(5P_{1/2, 3/2}) + Cs(6S_1/2) dissociation limit. The computed vibrational distribution of the produced molecules shows that they are stabilized in deeply bound vibrational states of the lowest triplet state. We also predict that a noticeable fraction of molecules is produced in the lowest level of the electronic ground state.     

Coherent optical transfer of Feshbach molecules to a lower vibrational state

Using the technique of stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) we have coherently transferred ultracold (87)Rb(2) Feshbach molecules into a more deeply bound vibrational quantum level. Our measurements indicate a high transfer efficiency of up to 87%. Because the molecules are held in an optical lattice with not more than a single molecule per lattice site, inelastic collisions between the molecules are suppressed and we observe long molecular lifetimes of about 1 s. Using STIRAP we have created quantum superpositions of the two molecular states and tested their coherence interferometrically. These results represent an important step towards Bose-Einstein condensation of molecules in the vibrational ground state.