Dual-wavelength laser source for onboard atom interferometry

We present a compact and stable dual-wavelength laser source for onboard atom interferometry with two different atomic species. It is based on frequency-doubled telecom lasers locked on a femtosecond optical frequency comb. We take advantage of the maturity of fiber telecom technology to reduce the number of free-space optical components, which are intrinsically less stable, and to make the setup immune to vibrations and thermal fluctuations. The source provides the frequency agility and phase stability required for atom interferometry and can easily be adapted to other cold atom experiments. We have shown its robustness by achieving the first dual-species K-Rb magneto-optical trap in microgravity during parabolic flights.     

Back and forth transfer and coherent coupling in a cold Rydberg dipole gas

Coupling by the resonant dipole-dipole energy transfer between cold cesium Rydberg atoms is investigated using time-resolved narrow-band deexcitation spectroscopy. This technique combines the advantage of efficient Rydberg excitation with high-resolution spectroscopy at variable interaction times. Dipole-dipole interaction is observed spectroscopically as avoided level crossing. The coherent character of the process is linked to back and forth transfer in the np + np <--> ns + (n + 1)s reaction. Decoherence in the ensemble has two different origins: the atom motion induced by dipole-dipole interaction and the migration of the s-Rydberg excitation in the environment of p-Rydberg atoms.     

Compact and robust laser system for onboard atom interferometry

We propose a compact and robust laser system at 780 nm for onboard atomic inertial sensors based on rubidium atom interferometry. The principle of this system consists in doubling the frequency of a telecom fiber bench at 1560 nm. The same laser source is used to achieve a magneto-optical trap, matter–wave interferences, and the atomic detection. An atomic gravimeter has been realized and the laser system has been validated under hyper- and microgravity.     

Light-pulse atom interferometry in microgravity

We describe the operation of a light pulse interferometer using cold ⁸⁷Rb atoms in reduced gravity. Using a series of two Raman transitions induced by light pulses, we have obtained Ramsey fringes in the low gravity environment achieved during parabolic flights. With our compact apparatus, we have operated in a regime which is not accessible on ground. In the much lower gravity environment and lower vibration level of a satellite, our cold atom interferometer could measure accelerations with a sensitivity orders of magnitude better than the best ground based accelerometers and close to proven spaced-based ones.     

Use of Rydberg atoms to control electron temperatures in ultracold plasmas

We investigate the idea of adding Rydberg atoms to an ultracold plasma to control the electronic temperature of the plasma. We show that a certain amount of control is indeed possible, and discuss limitations for the extent of electron cooling. Experimental data are found to be in good agreement with numerical simulations.     

Collisions in a cesium hybrid optical and magnetic trap

A new scheme for trapping Cs atoms in a non dissipative trap has been developed. The trap involves both optical dipole forces and magnetic forces. This device is suitable for Cs atoms in the lowest energy Zeeman sublevel, thus avoiding the two-body inelastic collisions which prevented reaching Bose-Einstein condensation of Cs in purely magnetic traps. Furthermore, an additional magnetic field can be applied, allowing a fine tuning of the two-body elastic collision cross-section. We report on the experimental realization of such a trap and describe the characteristics of the trapped atomic sample. An analysis of the collisional regime is performed using measurements of the damping of the oscillatory modes of the trapped atom cloud.     

Compact and robust laser system for rubidium laser cooling based on the frequency doubling of a fiber bench at 1560 nm

We propose a new compact and reliable laser system for rubidium laser cooling in onboard experiments like atomic clocks or atomic inertial sensors. The system is based on the frequency doubling of a telecom fiber bench at 1560 nm. Fiber components at 1560 nm allow us to generate the repumping laser and to control dynamically the power and the frequency of the 780 nm laser. With this laser system, we obtain a magneto-optical trap of ⁸⁵Rb even in the presence of mechanical vibrations and strong thermal variations (12 °C in 30 min). PACS 32.80.Pj; 42.60.-v; 42.81.Wg; 42.65.Ky; 39.20.+q     

Prospect for BEC in a cesium gas: one-dimensional evaporative cooling in a hybrid magnetic and optical trap

Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) in a atomic cesium gas prepared in a low field seeker Zeeman sublevel and confined in a magnetic trap has been thwarted by a high cross-section of inelastic spin-flip collisions. A recent experiment [1] succeeded in reaching BEC for cesium atoms using all optical methods and tuning the scattering length. We will discuss a hybrid magnetic and optical trap for cesium atoms in the true hyperfine ground state, the high field seeker Zeeman sublevel, F = m _F = 3. Although this trap allows only one-dimensional (1D) evaporative cooling, we show that a route towards BEC with such a trap should be possible. We present simulations of 1D evaporative cooling, which shows that a high phase space density (PSD) of 0.1 could be reached in less than 10 seconds.Received: 25 July 2003PACS: 03.75.Hh Static properties of condensates; thermodynamical, statistical and structural properties - 05.30.Jp Boson systems - 32.80.Pj Optical cooling of atoms; trappingLaboratoire Aimé Cotton is associated with University of Paris-Sud.     

Atom-molecule collisions in an optically trapped gas

Cold inelastic collisions between confined cesium (Cs) atoms and Cs2 molecules are investigated inside a CO2 laser dipole trap. Inelastic atom-molecule collisions can be observed and measured with a rate coefficient of approximately 2.6 x 10(-11) cm3 s(-1), mainly independent of the molecular rovibrational state populated. Lifetimes of purely atomic and molecular samples are essentially limited by rest gas collisions. The pure molecular trap lifetime ranges 0.3-1 s, 4 times smaller than the atomic one, as is also observed in a pure magnetic trap. We give an estimation of the inelastic molecule-molecule collision rate to be approximately 10(-11) cm3 s(-1).