Optical Manipulation of Ultracold Atoms

Abstract : It is well known that ultracold atoms (T < 1 milliKelvin) are promising candidates for nextgeneration inertial sensors and magnetometers. An interferometer measures accelerations and rotations in much the same way as does a laser-based interferometer, except that the recorded interferograms are due to matter wave interference rather than optical interference. Large laboratory-based atom interferometers using thermal atom beams have demonstrated unparalleled performance, but the most promising path to making such technology practical is to use ultracold atoms: unlike room temperature atoms, cold atoms can be guided along controlled trajectories, analogous to fiber optics for light. The roles of matter and light are reversed - whereas material guides photons in fiber optics, photons guide atoms in atom optics. To realize high sensitivities with cold atoms, we must: (1) obtain a large flux of cold atoms and (2) guide atoms coherently in atom waveguides. Our group is working on these issues using optical techniques with cold atoms derived from a magneto-optical trap that contains roughly 108 rubidium atoms at a temperature of 10 muK and density of 10(11) atoms/cm(3).