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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 48: Quantum Gases: Effects of Interactions

Q 48.1: Talk

Thursday, March 17, 2011, 10:30–10:45, SCH 251

Charge exchange reactions between a single ¹³⁸Ba⁺ ion and an ultracold sample of neutral ⁸⁷Rb atoms — •Arne Härter, Artjom Krükow, Stefan Schmid, Wolfgang Schnitzler, and Johannes Hecker Denschlag — Universität Ulm, Institut für Quantenmaterie, Albert-Einstein-Allee 45, D-89069 Ulm, Deutschland

Using a novel hybrid apparatus which allows for the simultaneous trapping of laser-cooled ions and ultracold neutral atoms, we investigate the interaction of a single trapped ¹³⁸Ba⁺ ion with an optically confined atomic sample of ⁸⁷Rb atoms [1]. After initially trapping the Ba⁺ ion in a linear Paul trap, it is then injected into the Rb cloud, giving rise to elastic and inelastic collisions. In the latter case, we mainly observe charge exchange reactions of the type Ba⁺ + Rb → Ba + Rb⁺, which are studied as a function of various parameters such as the interaction time and the density of the atomic sample. Understanding the dynamics of such reactions could allow for the realization of a charged quantum gas, which offers intriguing perspectives for a variety of novel experiments, such as charge transport in the ultracold domain [2], the formation of novel atom-ion bound states [3], polaron-type physics [4] or the production of cold, charged molecules in a well-defined quantum state [5].

[1] S. Schmid et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 133202 (2010)

[2] R. Côté, Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 5316 (2000)

[3] R. Côté et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 093001 (2002)

[4] F. M. Cucchietti et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 210401 (2006)

[5] P. F. Staanum et al., Nature Phys. 6, 271 (2010)