Düsseldorf 2007 – scientific programme
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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 44: Ultrakalte Atome (Manipulation und Detektion)
Q 44.1: Talk
Wednesday, March 21, 2007, 14:00–14:15, 5D
Using Ultra-Thin Optical Fibers for Cold Atom Physics — •Guillem Sagué1,2, Eugen Vetsch1,2, Wolfgang Alt1, Dieter Meschede1, and Arno Rauschenbeutel1,2 — 1Institut für Angewandte Physik, Universität Bonn, Wegelerstr. 8, 53115 Bonn — 2Institut für Physik, Universität Mainz, Staudingerweg 7, 55128 Mainz
The strong evanescent field around ultra-thin optical fibers bears a high potential for detecting, trapping, and manipulating cold atoms. Combining such a fiber with a magneto-optical trap, we investigate the interaction of a small number of cold Caesium atoms with the fiber’s guided modes and its surface. High resolution spectroscopy reveals that light-induced dipole forces and the van der Waals interaction play a significant role in the dynamics of the atoms. Furthermore, a significant enhancement of the spontaneous emission rate of the atoms is observed. The latter can be assigned to the modification of the vacuum mode density, due to the presence of the fiber.
We acknowledge financial support by the DFG research unit 557.