Berlin 2001 – scientific programme

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Q: Quantenoptik

Q 1: Poster: Atom Optics

Q 1.2: Poster

Monday, April 2, 2001, 12:30–15:00, AT2

Interferometry with magnetically trapped cold atoms — •W. Hänsel, P. Hommelhoff, J. Reichel, and T. W. Hänsch — MPI für Quantenoptik und Sektion Physik der Universität München, 80799 München

Interferometers typically use propagating particles which are freely moving or guided by appropriate tools. Nevertheless, an interferometer can equally be realized with trapped atoms if the initial trapping potential separates into two wells and recombines thereafter. The two lowest vibrational states of the initial / final trap serve as the input / output ports of the interferometer. We have realized such a potential in a lithographic magnetic microtrap. Here we present a numerical simulation of this trapped-atom-interferometer, based on a realistic microtrap potential. The results indicate that the interference cycle can be carried out in less than 50 ms without inducing unwanted transitions into higher excited states. From the experimental point of view, this scheme is very promising due to the specific properties of our lithographic, chip-based traps such as stability, modularity and scalability.