Physics 500 Spring 2009

unmUniversity of New Mexico

Department of Physics and Astronomy

 

 

Introduction to Laser Cooling and Trapping of Atoms

 

 


General Information

 

Instructor: Prof. Ivan Deutsch (my research group web page)

Phys/Astro Room 24, Phone: 277-1502

email: ideutsch@unm.edu

 

Prequisites: Physics 521-522 (or equivalent)

 

Overview: What began as simple technique to be used for improved spectroscopy and precision measurement has blossomed into a powerful tool for fundamental studies in low temperature physics. New applications in matter wave interferometry, quantum degenerate gases, and quantum information processing are now being actively pursued. The inventions have lead to two Nobel Prizes in physics: 1997 (for atomic laser cooling) and 2001 (for Bose-Einstein condensation). This seminar is an introduction to theory and experiment in laser cooling and trapping of neutral atoms and ions. A series of lectures for ~7 weeks will be followed by student presentations on contemporary research papers. Topics to be covered include:

• Basics of atom-photon interaction.

• Doppler cooling.

• Optical molasses and magneto-optic traps.

• Subdoppler polarization and polarization gradient cooling.

• Ion traps and resolved sideband cooling.

• Optical lattices.

• BEC and Fermi degenerate gases.

• Cold collisions.

• Quantum information processing with cold atoms.

 


Resource Materials:


 

 

Tentative Schedule of Lectures

 

Lecture

 Topic

1
 Overview: History of laser cooling,

Classical model of force on atoms - scattering force and dipole force.

2
Quantum model: Photon scattering and ac-stark shift
3
Doppler Cooling 2: Qualitative picture
4
Doppler Cooling 2: Optical molasses and the Doppler Limit.
5

Trapping 1: Magneto-optic trap, Dipole traps

6

Subdoppler cooling 1: Intro to polarization graident cooling.

Master equation for low saturation.

7

Subdoppler cooling 2: Sisyphus cooling

8
Trapping 2 - Ion traps
9

Cooling trapped particles -- The Lamb-Dicke effect.

Resolved sideband laser cooling.

 

Student Presentations

 

Date

 Student: Topic

4/6
 Brad Chase: Creating BEC

Thomas Loyd: BEC on a Chip

4/13

Xuefang Zhang: BEC Mean-Field Approximation

Zhang Jiang: BEC in an Optical Lattice

4/20

Ben Baragiola: Feshbach Resonances

Alexandre Tacla: BEC-BCS Transition

4/27

Lee Walsh: Polar Molecules

Leigh Norris: Collective Spin Control with Cold Atoms

5/4

Carlos Riofrio: Quantum Control in Ion Traps

 


Review Talks: Subjects

I. Laser Cooling

 

III. Trapping

 

II. Atom Optics

 

III. Degenerate Quantum Gases

 

IV. Ultracold Collisions

 

V. Quantum Information/Control