Collisional Blockade in Microscopic Optical Dipole Traps

Schlosser, Nicolas; Reymond, Georges; Grangier, Philippe

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.89.023005

Cited by 236 publications

(244 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Generally both channels are present; but which is more likely depends on the dynamics of the atoms in the trap under the influence of laser cooling. The existence of collisional single atom ejection allows us to exceed the 50% isolation efficiency of individual atoms previously reported when using red-detuned light-assisted collisions [10][11][12][13]. The onset of other loss mechanisms still limits our single atom loading efficiency to 63%.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Whereas it obscures parity measurements it may enhance the efficiency P beyond 50% when light-assisted collisions are used for the isolation of individual atoms in optical microtraps [10][11][12][13]. A high P is important to applications where multiple traps have to be loaded each with one atom simultaneously [23].…”

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confidence: 99%

“…This phenomenon is of fundamental interest [9] and plays a crucial role in modern laser cooling experiments. In addition, light-assisted collisions have been employed to isolate individual atoms in optical microtraps [10][11][12][13][14], to redistribute atoms loaded into an array of traps [15], and to perform parity number measurement of atoms in optical lattices [16,17]. Isolation experiments that used bluedetuned light to induce collisions have achieved high efficiency, whereas experiments using red detuned light have reported efficiencies of about 50%.…”

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Dynamics of two atoms undergoing light-assisted collisions in an optical microtrap

et al. 2013

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We study the dynamics of atoms in optical traps when exposed to laser cooling light that induces light-assisted collisions. We experimentally prepare individual atom pairs and observe their evolution. Due to the simplicity of the system (just two atoms in a microtrap) we can directly simulate the pair's dynamics, thereby revealing detailed insight into it. We find that often only one of the collision partners gets expelled, similar to when using blue detuned light for inducing the collisions. This enhances schemes for using light-assisted collisions to prepare individual atoms and affects other applications as well. PACS numbers:Optically trapped cold atoms provide an exciting platform for studying the change in atom-atom interactions due to absorption or emission of light. The advantage of such a system is that the atoms are isolated from their surroundings and basic physical effects in photochemistry can be studied without interference from processes induced by the environment. Recently this has led to controlled formation of ultra-cold molecular gases [1,2] and in the past, photo-association spectroscopy has provided detailed knowledge about atom-atom interaction potentials [3,4].Typically, experiments on photo-association or lightassisted collisions of cold atoms are conducted on large samples. Studying microscopic processes at the individual event level reveals information hidden in ensemble averages of larger samples [5,6]. Pioneering work in studying individual light-assisted collisions was conducted using small samples of atoms in a high gradient MagnetoOptical Trap (MOT) [7,8]. Those studies observed that up to 10% of loss events manifested themselves as just one of the collision partners being lost from the MOT.Of particular interest to many modern experiments in atomic physics are light-assisted collisions or photoassociation events induced by near-resonant light. This phenomenon is of fundamental interest [9] and plays a crucial role in modern laser cooling experiments. In addition, light-assisted collisions have been employed to isolate individual atoms in optical microtraps [10][11][12][13][14], to redistribute atoms loaded into an array of traps [15], and to perform parity number measurement of atoms in optical lattices [16,17]. Isolation experiments that used bluedetuned light to induce collisions have achieved high efficiency, whereas experiments using red detuned light have reported efficiencies of about 50%. For several of these applications it is assumed that both atoms of the pair are lost from the optical microtrap when they undergo light-assisted collisions.Here we revisit the ejection of atoms from a far off resonance optical trap due to light-assisted collisions induced by red-detuned laser cooling light. We implement the idealized collision experiment in which only two atoms are trapped so we can observe individual atom loss events. A numerical model of the complex dynamics of the expelling process agrees well with our experiment. We find that the light-assisted collisions can lead to j...

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Dynamics of two atoms undergoing light-assisted collisions in an optical microtrap

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“…The process of two or more atoms in a very small trap volume being ejected from the trap occurs as a result of light-assisted collision induced by the resonant laser at 780 nm, known as the "collisional blockade" mechanism [13,14]. To assure that the upper fluorescence level corresponds to one atom, we make the Hanbury Brown and Twiss (HBT) effect measurement [20,21].…”

Section: Experimental Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Instead of being adiabatically transferred from ultracold atomic ensemble, in our experiment single atom array is built one by one based on "collisional blockade" mechanism [13,14] that locks the atom number either zero or one in ultra small dipole trap in the presence of near-resonant laser light. Here, we demonstrate trapping single neutral rubidium atoms in the ring lattice generated by a computer controlled spatial light modulator (SLM), and present several kinds of manipulations of single atom array.…”

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Single atoms in the ring lattice for quantum information processing and quantum simulation

Shi

et al. 2012

Chin. Sci. Bull.

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We have demonstrated preparing and rotating single neutral rubidium atoms in an optical ring lattice generated by a spatial light modulator, inserting two atoms into a single microscopic optical potential efficiently by dynamically reshaping the optical dipole trap, trapping single atoms in a blue detuned optical bottle beam trap, and confining single atoms into the Lamb-Dicke regime by combining red and blue detuned optical potentials. In combination with the manipulation of internal states of single atoms, the study is opening a way for research in the field of quantum information processing and quantum simulation. In this paper we review the past works and discuss the prospects. laser cooling and trapping, single atoms, quantum information processing, quantum simulation Citation:Yu S, He X D, Xu P, et al. Single atoms in the ring lattice for quantum information processing and quantum simulation. Chin Sci Bull, 2012Bull, , 57: 1931 1945Bull, , doi: 10.1007 Single neutral atoms are promising candidates for quantum information processing [6,7]. A qubit can be encoded in the internal or motional states of an atom, and multi-qubit operations can be performed based on atom-light interactions or atom-atom interactions. In particular, the hyperfine ground states of alkali-metal atoms can be considered as qubits, which can be easily manipulated via microwave radiation or Raman transitions. Several kinds of proposals for quantum gate operation were designed based on dipoledipole interactions between Rydberg atoms [8], cavity-mediated photon exchange [9] and controlled collisions [10]. Furthermore, single atom array can serve as a research platform for physical models described in other systems that are not directly investigated experimentally. The few-body simulation offers an opportunity to understand some intriguing many-body phenomena, such as superconductivity in solid materials [11], and the natural process of photosynthesis [12]. Instead of being adiabatically transferred from ultracold atomic ensemble, in our experiment single atom array is built one by one based on "collisional blockade" mechanism [13,14] that locks the atom number either zero or one in ultra small dipole trap in the presence of near-resonant laser light. Here, we demonstrate trapping single neutral rubidium atoms in the ring lattice generated by a computer controlled spatial light modulator (SLM), and present several kinds of manipulations of single atom array.

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Detecting Neutral Atoms on an Atom Chip

Wilzbach¹,

Haase²,

Schwarz³

et al. 2007

Elements of Quantum Information

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Detecting single atoms (qubits) is a key requirement for implementing quantum information processing on an atom chip. The detector should ideally be integrated on the chip. Here we present and compare different methods capable of detecting neutral atoms on an atom chip. After a short introduction to fluorescence and absorption detection we discuss cavity enhanced detection of single atoms. In particular we concentrate on optical fiber based detectors such as fiber cavities and tapered fiber dipole traps. We discuss the various constraints in building such detectors in detail along with the current implementations on atom chips. Results from experimental tests of fiber integration are also described. In addition we present a pilot experiment for atom detection using a concentric cavity to verify the required scaling.

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Collisional Blockade in Microscopic Optical Dipole Traps

Cited by 236 publications

References 12 publications

Dynamics of two atoms undergoing light-assisted collisions in an optical microtrap

Dynamics of two atoms undergoing light-assisted collisions in an optical microtrap

Single atoms in the ring lattice for quantum information processing and quantum simulation

Detecting Neutral Atoms on an Atom Chip

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