Monday, September 26, 2011

Atoms in Optical Fibers

Summary of several papers, including:

Kasturi Saha, Vivek Vankataraman, Pablo Londero, and Alexander L. Gaeta

We show that two-photon absorption (TPA) in rubidium atoms can be greatly enhanced by the use of a hollow-core photonic-band-gap fiber. We investigate off-resonant, degenerate Doppler-free TPA on the 5S1/2→5D5/2 transition and observe 1% absorption of a pump beam with a total power of only 1 mW in the fiber. These results are verified by measuring the amount of emitted blue fluorescence and are consistent with the theoretical predictions which indicate that transit-time effects play an important role in determining the two-photon absorption cross section in a confined geometry.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Quantum Simulation of Frustrated Classical Magnetism in Triangular Optical Lattices

      J. Struck, C. Ölschläger, R. Le Targat, P. Soltan-Panahi, A. Eckardt, M. Lewenstein, P. Windpassinger, K. Sengstock

  • Magnetism plays a key role in modern technology and stimulates research in several branches of condensed matter physics. Although the theory of classical magnetism is well developed, the demonstration of a widely tunable experimental system has remained an elusive goal. Here, we present the realization of a large-scale simulator for classical magnetism on a triangular lattice by exploiting the particular properties of a quantum system. We use the motional degrees of freedom of atoms trapped in an optical lattice to simulate a large variety of magnetic phases: ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic, and even frustrated spin configurations. A rich phase diagram is revealed with different types of phase transitions. Our results provide a route to study highly debated phases like spin-liquids as well as the dynamics of quantum phase transitions.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Realization of an optomechanical interface between ultracold atoms and a membrane

      Stephan Camerer, Maria Korppi, Andreas Jockel, David Hunger, Theodor W. Hansch, Philipp Treutlein

      We have realized a hybrid optomechanical system by coupling ultracold atoms to a micromechanical membrane. The atoms are trapped in an optical lattice, which is formed by retro-reflection of a laser beam from the membrane surface. In this setup, the lattice laser light mediates an optomechanical coupling between membrane vibrations and atomic center-of-mass motion. We observe both the effect of the membrane vibrations onto the atoms as well as the backaction of the atomic motion onto the membrane. By coupling the membrane to laser-cooled atoms, we engineer the dissipation rate of the membrane. Our observations agree quantitatively with a simple model.