Quantum wires and quantum dots for neutral atoms

By placing changeable nanofabricated structures (wires, dots, etc.) on an atom mirror one can design guiding and trapping potentials for atoms. These potentials are similar to the electrostatic potentials which trap and guide electrons in semiconductor quantum devices like quantum wires and quantum dots. This technique will allow the fabrication of nanoscale atom optical devices. Received: 28 October 1997 / Revised: 17 February 1998 / Accepted: 17 July 1998     

Microfabricated magnetic waveguides for neutral atoms

We describe how tightly confining magnetic waveguides for atoms can be created with microfabricated or nanofabricated wires. Rubidium atoms guided in the devices we have fabricated would have a transverse mode energy spacing of K. We discuss the creation of a single-mode waveguide for atom interferometry whose depth is comparable to magneto-optical trap (MOT) temperatures. We also discuss the application of microfabricated waveguides to low-dimensional systems of quantum degenerate gases, and show that confinement can be strong enough to observe fermionization in a strongly interacting bosonic ensemble. Received 1st December 1998 and Received in final form 23 February 1999     

Computed structures and energetics of ionic neon clusters using DFT correlation corrections

The structural properties of some of the smaller ionic clusters of neon atoms are examined at the post-Hartree-Fock level using a variety of correlation corrections described within a Density Functional treatment. The results of the calculations, and the physical reliability of the method, are discussed in comparison with earlier theoretical results and with the scanty experimental data. The possible presence of a dimeric ion as the core ionic moiety of all the clusters is indicated by the present treatment which also underlines the weaker binding of the outer “shells” of Ne atoms to the central moiety and the rather marked overall charge localization into the central ionic core of the clusters. Received 30 December 1999 and Received in final form 29 February 2000     

Retardation corrections to the angular distributions for the free-bound transitions in H-like atoms

The non-relativistic matrix elements and cross-sections of the radiative recombination for H-like atoms are calculated by considering the retardation corrections up to the first order in . These corrections are evaluated for the transitions to the spherical states using recursion relations which lead to fast and accurate calculations of the cross-sections. Received 4 June 1999     

Reflection of cold atoms from an array of current-carrying wires

We report the realization of a new type of magnetostatic mirror for slowly moving atoms which comprises a planar array of parallel wires alternately carrying electric current in opposite directions. One of the features of this atomic mirror is that the magnetic field may be readily varied, switched or modulated by altering the current in the wires. Reflection signals close to 100% at a pulsed current of 3 A are demonstrated for a beam of free-falling laser-cooled cesium atoms at normal incidence. The current dependence of the reflection signals exhibits structure which is associated with the sequential onset of reflection of cesium 6² S _1/2 , F=4 atoms in the m=+4, +3, +2 and +1 magnetic states. Measurements of the spatial distribution of the reflected atoms indicate the reflection is predominantly specular at currents of 3 A. Received: 31 August 1998 / Accepted: 6 October 1998     

Ising films with surface defects

The influence of surface defects on the critical properties of magnetic films is studied for Ising models with nearest-neighbour ferromagnetic couplings. The defects include one or two adjacent lines of additional atoms and a step on the surface. For the calculations, both density-matrix renormalization group and Monte Carlo techniques are used. By changing the local couplings at the defects and the film thickness, non-universal features as well as interesting crossover phenomena in the magnetic exponents are observed. Received 27 July 2000 and Received in final form 5 October 2000     

Modelling the diffraction of laser-cooled atoms from magnetic gratings

The diffraction of laser-cooled atoms from a spatially-periodic potential is modelled using rigorous coupled-wave analysis. This numerical technique, normally applied to light-diffraction, is adapted for use with atomic de Broglie waves incident on a reflecting diffraction grating. The technique approximates the potential by a large number of constant layers and successively solves the complex eigenvalue problem in each layer, propagating the solution up to the surface of the grating. The method enables the diffraction efficiencies to be calculated for any periodic potential. The results from the numerical model are compared with the thin phase-grating approximation formulae for evanescent light-wave diffraction gratings and idealised magnetic diffraction gratings. The model is applied to the problem of diffracting Rb atoms from a grating made from an array of permanent magnets. Received 13 June 2000 and Received in final form 15 December 2000     

Interferometry with entangled atoms

A quantum gravity-gradiometer consists of two spatially separated ensembles of atoms interrogated by pulses of a common laser beam. The laser pulses cause the probability amplitudes of atomic ground-state hyperfine levels to interfere, producing two, motion-sensitive, phase shifts, which allow the measurement of the average acceleration of each ensemble, and, via simple differencing, of the acceleration gradient. Here we propose entangling the quantum states of atoms from the two ensembles prior to the pulse sequence, and show that entanglement encodes their relative acceleration in a single interference phase which can be measured directly, with no need for differencing. Received 6 June 2002 / Received in final form 25 October 2002 Published online 28 January 2003     

Improving the specularity of magnetic mirrors for atoms

An array of anti-parallel current-carrying wires creates an inhomogeneous magnetic field capable of reflecting neutral atoms. We present analytical and numerical analyses of the magnetic field produced by such an array, and describe methods for reducing the resulting rms angular deviation from specular reflection to less than 0.1 mrad. Careful choice of cross-sectional wire profiles is shown to dramatically improve specularity of reflection close to the surface. Additionally, we find that the specularity depends on whether the number of wires in the mirror is even or odd, and that there exists an optimal turning height above the surface that maximizes the specularity of reflection from the mirror. Received 16 November 1998     

Spin polarization of electrons elastically scattered from europium and bismuth atoms

We present calculations of differential, integrated elastic, total, momentum transfer cross-sections and spin-polarization parameters S, T and U for scattering of electrons from Eu and Bi atoms in the energy range 2.0 to 500.0 eV using semi-relativistic approach. The target-projectile interaction is represented both by real and complex parameter-free optical potentials in the solution of Dirac equation for the scattered electrons. The results for the differential cross-sections and spin-polarization parameters have been compared with the available calculations and experimental results. Received 17 February 2000 and Received in final form 15 June 2000     

TiC lattice dynamics from ab initio calculations

Ab initio calculations and a direct method have been applied to derive the phonon dispersion curves and phonon density of states for the TiC crystal. The results are compared and found to be in a good agreement with the experimental neutron scattering data. The force constants have been determined from the Hellmann-Feynman forces induced by atomic displacements in a supercell. The calculated phonon density of states suggests that vibrations of Ti atoms form acoustic branches, whereas the motion of C atoms is confined to optic branches. The elastic constants have been found using the deformation method and compared with the results obtained from acoustic phonon slopes. Received 23 February 1998     

Reflection of thermal atoms by a pulsed standing wave

Reflection of thermal atoms by a pulsed standing wave with a duration in the nanosecond range is studied. The momentum distribution of the reflected atoms is determined by calculations based on the adiabatic atom-photon interactions. It is shown that with a proper choice of the field intensity and the pulse duration the standing-wave pattern functions as a row of independent atom mirrors. At an optimum choice of the parameter values, the fraction of the elastically reflected atoms is more than 20%. Furthermore, we show that the pulsed standing-wave mirror can be used to manipulate their final momentum distribution. When using laser pulses with an intensity of several tens of MW/cm², tens of thousands of atoms can be reflected by a single laser pulse. Received 3 December 1999 and Received in final form 25 April 2000     

Two body loss rate in a magneto-optical trap of metastable He

We have measured the two body loss rate in a magneto-optical trap containing triplet metastable He atoms. We find a rate constant cm³/s at a -8 MHz detuning, with an uncertainty of a factor 2. This measurement is in disagreement with a recent experiment which measures the absolute, ion-producing collision rate, but agrees with several other published measurements. Received 20 April 1999 and Received in final form 12 July 1999     

Surface coverage studies of the icosahedron by Li using density based molecular dynamics

Density based molecular dynamics has been used to investigate the ground state structures of heterogeneous binary clusters Al₁₃Li_n, n = 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 19, 20, 21. Some of these structures have also been investigated by full Kohn-Sham based calculations. Our earlier investigations have shown that in the Al-Li cluster, the ground state configurations are the ones where the Al atoms form a core around which the Li atoms form a “cage”. In the present work, we have chosen the well-known Al₁₃ icosahedron as the surface over which we study the evolution of the surface coverage as the number of Li atoms increases. On the basis of the earlier work, we expect that the Al₁₃Li₂₀ cluster would be the most stable and indeed our simulations do yield such a novel fivefold symmetric stable structure formed out of purely metal atoms. This icosahedral substrate is also used to study the coverage of the aluminum surface by lithium atoms. For a small number of Li atoms, these studies suggest that the Li-Li dimerisation is not particularly favored. Received: 24 October 1997 / Revised: 7 April 1998 / Accepted: 29 June 1998     

Interfacial polarisation effect on the interlayer couplings in Co/Rh sandwiches

The structural, magnetic and transport properties of Co/Rh sandwiches grown by ultra high vacuum evaporation and sputtering have been studied. High-energy electron diffraction observations during the growth reveal that both Co and Rh layers have been stabilised in the (111) fcc structure for the evaporated sandwiches. X-ray measurements performed on sputtered samples show a predominant fcc polycrystalline structure of the stacks with a preferential (111) texture. Magnetisation and magnetoresistance measurements show a very strong antiferromagnetic exchange coupling for thin Rh layers, reaching for 4.8? Rh, the strongest ever observed in exchange coupled systems. This value is in good agreement with the value of obtained by ab initio calculations for Co/Rh (hcp) superlattices. This is explained by the magnetic nature of the Co/Rh interfaces. Indeed, the variation of the measured saturation magnetisation as a function of the Co layer thickness shows no evidence of Co moment reduction for the Co atoms located at the interfaces, even for the very thin layers. The value of the preserved magnetic moments of the cobalt atoms at the interfaces is confirmed by ab initio calculations for Co/Rh superlattices taking the intermixing into account. Received: 18 February 1998 / Received in final form: 30 April 1998 / Accepted: 29 May 1998     

Dissociative attachment of low-energy electrons to vibrationally excited molecules using a photoelectron source

The process of dissociative attachment (DA) of low-energy electrons ) to vibrationally excited sodium dimer molecules is studied with high electron energy resolution () in a supersonic molecular beam. A novel photoelectron source, based on two-step photoionization of the sodium atoms in the beam, may deliver a current of up to 1 nA and has been used with a current of typically 0.2 nA in this experiment. The energy dependence of the rate of sodium anion formation is determined by ion detection based on a time-of-flight analysis. The molecules are selectively excited to levels using the technique of coherent population transfer by delayed pulses (STIRAP). The comparison of the experimental data with recent resonance model calculations based on improved potential curves reveals generally good agreement for levels v ”>12. For some distinct differences between theoretical and experimental results persist. Received: 21 November 1998 / Received in final form: 7 April 1999     

Atomic Rayleigh scattering cross-sections and the associated anomalous dispersion in the X-ray regions

Elastic scattering cross-sections for Pd, Ag, Cd, In, Sn, Sb, Pt, Au and Pb are measured at an angle of 90 in the X-ray region 5.41 keV. These energies fall between the high-energy side of the L- and M-shell absorption edges of the atoms considered. The present atomic region is significant for solid X-rays to assess the contribution of resonance and solid-state environmental effects. Also it is the anomalous scattering region for many of the atoms of the periodic table. Experimental results are compared with theoretical calculations based on form factor formalisms including the anomalous corrections and available recent S-matrix values. Based on the experimental evidence, the present results indicate the influence of solid-state environmental effects, the importance of anomalous corrections nearer to absorption edges, the correctness of revised high-energy limit values, the superiority of S-matrix predictions over form factor values on measured elastic scattering cross-sections in the X-ray regime and also show the resonance behavior around K, L and M absorption edges. Received: 27 January 1998 / Received in final form: 4 January 1999     

The different effect of electron-electron interaction on the spectrum of atoms and quantum dots

Though atoms and quantum dots typically contain a comparable number of electrons, the number of discrete levels resolved in spectroscopy experiments is very different for the two systems. In atoms, hundreds of levels are observed while in quantum dots that number is usually smaller than 10. In the present work, this difference is traced to the different confining potentials in these systems. In atoms, the soft confining potential leads to large spatial extent of the excited electron's wave function and hence to weak Coulomb interaction with the rest of the atomic electrons. The resulting level broadening is smaller than the single particle level spacing and decreases as the excitation energy is increased. In quantum dots, on the other hand, the sharp confining potential results in electron-electron scattering rates that grow rapidly with energy and fairly quickly exceed the approximately constant single particle level spacing. The number of discrete levels in quantum dots is hence limited by electron-electron interaction, whose effect is negligible in atoms. Received 3 April 2000 and Received in final form 7 August 2000     

Fringe contrast in three grating Mach-Zehnder atomic interferometers

Several three-grating Mach-Zehnder atomic interferometers have been built and operated in recent years but no general theory of the contrast of the fringes produced by these apparatus is available. The purpose of this paper is to develop this theory, based on the Fresnel-Kirchoff approximate treatment of diffraction. Such a theory has been developed by Turchette et al. [JOSA B 9, 1601 (1992)] but because the necessary multiple integrals were evaluated in a purely numerical way, this treatment was not fully general. We show here how to reduce the computation by analytic means and we are thus able to calculate the contrast with a modest numerical effort. Moreover, we get a simple insight of the contrast reduction related to several defects of a real apparatus. We apply our calculations to existing interferometers as well as to an apparatus working with lithium which is under construction in our laboratory. Received: 24 April 1998 / Revised: 25 October 1998 / Accepted: 11 December 1998