Reconfigurable self-sufficient traps for ultracold atoms based on a superconducting square

Abstract

We report on the trapping of ultracold atoms in the magnetic field formed entirely by persistent supercurrents induced in a thin film type-II superconducting square. The supercurrents are carried by vortices induced in the 2D structure by applying two magnetic field pulses of varying amplitude perpendicular to its surface. This results in a self-sufficient quadrupole trap that does not require any externally applied fields. We investigate the trapping parameters for different supercurrent distributions. Furthermore, to demonstrate possible applications of these types of supercurrent traps we show how a central quadrupole trap can be split into four traps by the use of a bias field.

Interaction of a Bose–Einstein condensate and a superconductor via eddy currents

“…While the influence of a solid on a BEC is sizeable and has been well studied in the past, normally the influence of a BEC on a solid is very weak due to the low density of the BEC. In recent years, BECs have been condensed in superconducting microtraps [9][10][11][12][13], allowing the close approach of a BEC to a superconducting surface [14][15][16][17]. The use of a superconducting microtrap as opposed to a metallic one allows for a significantly longer lifetime of the atomic cloud in the vicinity of the surface [14,[18][19][20], and therefore also longer coherence time.…”

Many-body physics in two-component Bose–Einstein condensates in a cavity: fragmented superradiance and polarization

“…Indeed, ultracold atoms are readily accessible and can have decoherence times of several seconds [15,18]; thus ultracold atoms and, in particular, their hyperfine states (usually the 'clock states') have bright prospects for quantum information storage. Attempts to collectively couple the microwave hyperfine ground state of an ultracold atomic ensemble in a cavity QED setting with a superconducting resonator are already being pursued by numerous groups across the world despite the substantial technical challenges [19][20][21][22][23][24].…”

Superconducting resonator and Rydberg atom hybrid system in the strong coupling regime

“…Nevertheless, this sensitivity of SC circuits leads to short decoherence times caused by environmental noise [1]. In contrast, atoms can maintain the quantum coherence exceeding one second [2], but processing quantum information as fast as SC devices is impractical.Hybridizing SC circuits and atoms bears great potential to overcome the bottlenecks of above quantum technologies [3][4][5][6][7]. In this context, one competitive candidate is the SC resonator-atom system, where a coherent microwave photon strongly drives an atomic transition between two long-lived states [8,9].…”