Observation of Collective-Emission-Induced Cooling of Atoms in an Optical Cavity

Chan, Hilton W.; Black, Adam; Vuletić, Vladan

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.90.063003

Cited by 154 publications

(156 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…However, the fact that the collective atomic centre-of-mass motion of atoms can strongly influence the evolution of optical fields has only received attention relatively recently [1,2,3,4]. Recent experimental studies involving large numbers of cold atoms in high-quality cavities [5,6,7] represent an important advance in this field, allowing detailed experimental studies of collective atom-light interaction dynamics. During these interactions both the mechanical effect of the cavity modes on the atomic motion and the driving of the cavity modes by the dynamic spatial distribution of atoms in the cavity must be described self-consistently and cannot be considered independently.…”

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confidence: 99%

Collective atomic recoil lasing including friction and diffusion effects

et al. 2004

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We extend the Collective Atomic Recoil Lasing (CARL) model including the effects of friction and diffusion forces acting on the atoms due to the presence of optical molasses fields. The results from this model are consistent with those from a recent experiment by Kruse et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 183601 (2003)]. In particular, we obtain a threshold condition above which collective backscattering occurs. Using a nonlinear analysis we show that the backscattered field and the bunching evolve to a steady-state, in contrast to the non-stationary behaviour of the standard CARL model. For a proper choice of the parameters, this steady-state can be superfluorescent.The mechanical effect of light on atoms has now been the subject of intense theoretical and experimental research efforts for several decades. However, the fact that the collective atomic centre-of-mass motion of atoms can strongly influence the evolution of optical fields has only received attention relatively recently [1,2,3,4]. Recent experimental studies involving large numbers of cold atoms in high-quality cavities [5,6,7] represent an important advance in this field, allowing detailed experimental studies of collective atom-light interaction dynamics. During these interactions both the mechanical effect of the cavity modes on the atomic motion and the driving of the cavity modes by the dynamic spatial distribution of atoms in the cavity must be described self-consistently and cannot be considered independently.A recent experiment by Kruse et al. [5] represents the first unambiguous realization of the CARL model originally proposed by Bonifacio and coworkers [1], which describes collective backscattering of an optical pump field by a sample of cold atoms. Previous experiments on CARL have been performed in hot atomic vapours [8,9] where however the gain of the backward field can not be unambiguously attributed to atomic recoil.Here we extend the previous theoretical work on CARL, including the effects of friction and diffusion forces acting on the atoms due to the presence of optical molasses fields. We describe the system using a set of coupled Maxwell-Fokker-Planck equations. A linear stability analysis reveals that there is a threshold condition for the pump power above which collective backscattering occurs. Preliminary experimental results confirm this prediction [10]. We further show that the backscattered field and atomic density modulation amplitude or 'bunching' evolve to a steady-state, in contrast to the non-stationary behaviour observed using the standard CARL model. Our model describes the main features of the experimental results of [5].In addition to the so-called 'good-cavity' regime in which the experiment of [5] operates, we also examine the behaviour of the system in the 'bad-cavity' regime.We show that in this regime the atoms emit in a superfluorescent way [11], with scattered intensity ∝ N 2 , where N is the number of atoms. This is a unique example of a steady-state superfluorescence, i.e. superradiance from an incoherently pre...

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Collective atomic recoil lasing including friction and diffusion effects

et al. 2004

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“…Several recent experiments have reported relevant features of these complex dynamics [3][4][5][6][7][8]. Experimental demonstrations of atom cooling in resonators [3][4][5][6][7] have shown, among others, that cavities are a promising tool for preparing and controlling cold atomic samples of scalable dimensions, which may find relevant applications, for instance, in quantum information processing [9].In this Letter, we present a study of the quantum dynamics of the center-of-mass motion of an atomic dipole, which couples to a resonator and to a laser field driving it from the side. The system is sketched in Fig.…”

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Cooling Trapped Atoms in Optical Resonators

2005

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We derive an equation for the cooling dynamics of the quantum motion of an atom trapped by an external potential inside an optical resonator. This equation has broad validity and allows us to identify novel regimes where the motion can be efficiently cooled to the potential ground state. Our result shows that the motion is critically affected by quantum correlations induced by the mechanical coupling with the resonator, which may lead to selective suppression of certain transitions for the appropriate parameters regimes, thereby increasing the cooling efficiency. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.143001 PACS numbers: 32.80.Pj, 32.80.Lg, 42.50.Pq Cavity cooling is a recent expression, which stresses the role of the mechanical effects of a resonator on the atomic and molecular center-of-mass dynamics. Indeed, the coupling between resonator and atom gives rise to complex dynamics, one aspect of which is the substantial modification of the atom spectroscopic properties [1]. This property allows one to change the atom scattering cross section, thereby affecting, and eventually tailoring, the mechanical dynamics of the atomic center of mass [2]. Moreover, the motion of the atom changes the medium density, thereby affecting the resonator field itself. Several recent experiments have reported relevant features of these complex dynamics [3][4][5][6][7][8]. Experimental demonstrations of atom cooling in resonators [3][4][5][6][7] have shown, among others, that cavities are a promising tool for preparing and controlling cold atomic samples of scalable dimensions, which may find relevant applications, for instance, in quantum information processing [9].In this Letter, we present a study of the quantum dynamics of the center-of-mass motion of an atomic dipole, which couples to a resonator and to a laser field driving it from the side. The system is sketched in Fig. 1. Differently from recent theoretical works on cavity cooling of atomic clouds [10], here the center of mass is confined by a tight trap, in a configuration that may correspond to the experimental situations reported, for instance, in [4,11,12]. Starting from a master equation for the quantum variables of the dipole, cavity, and center of mass, we derive a closed equation for the center-of-mass dynamics. This equation generalizes previous theoretical studies [13,14] and allows us to identify novel parameter regimes, where cooling can be efficient. Moreover, its form permits us to identify the individual scattering contributions, thereby gaining insight into the role of the various physical parameters. We show that quantum correlations between atom and resonator may lead to the suppression of scattering transitions, thereby enhancing the cooling efficiency.The starting point is the master equation for an atom of mass M whose dipole transition between the ground and excited states jgi and jei couples (quasi)resonantly to a laser and the mode of an optical resonator with wave vector k L and k c , respectively (jk L j jk c j k). In the reference frame of the laser, the...

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“…Systematic experimental studies of cavity-mediated laser cooling have subsequently been reported by Rempe and co-workers [3][4][5][6], Vuletić and co-workers [7][8][9][10], and others [11,12]. Recent atom-cavity experiments access an even wider range of experimental parameters by replacing conventional high-finesse cavities [13,14] with optical ring cavities [15,16] and tapered nanofibers [17,18] and by combining optical cavities with atom-chip technology [19,20], atomic conveyer belts [21,22], and ion traps [23].…”

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confidence: 99%

Rate-equation approach to cavity-mediated laser cooling

Blake¹,

Kurcz²,

Beige³

2012

Phys. Rev. A

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The cooling rate for cavity-mediated laser cooling scales as the Lamb-Dicke parameter η squared. A proper analysis of the cooling process hence needs to take terms up to η 2 in the system dynamics into account. In this paper, we present such an analysis for a standard scenario of cavity-mediated laser cooling with η 1. Our results confirm that there are many similarities between ordinary and cavity-mediated laser cooling. However, for a weakly confined particle inside a strongly coupled cavity, which is the most interesting case for the cooling of molecules, numerical results indicate that more detailed calculations are needed to model the cooling process accurately.

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Observation of Collective-Emission-Induced Cooling of Atoms in an Optical Cavity

Cited by 154 publications

References 32 publications

Collective atomic recoil lasing including friction and diffusion effects

Collective atomic recoil lasing including friction and diffusion effects

Cooling Trapped Atoms in Optical Resonators

Rate-equation approach to cavity-mediated laser cooling

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