Hannover 2013 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 35: Poster I

Q 35.84: Poster

Dienstag, 19. März 2013, 16:00–18:30, Empore Lichthof

A new setup for interfacing ultracold atoms with micromechanical oscillators — •Aline Faber, Maria Korppi, Andreas Jöckel, Tobias Kampschulte, Matthew Rakher, and Philipp Treutlein — Departement Physik, Klingelbergstrasse 82, 4056 Basel, Schweiz

Ultracold atomic ensembles and mechanical oscillators have recentlyattracted much interest as candidates for a hybrid quantum system. We aim to couple the motion of laser-cooled atoms to the vibrations of a micromechanical membrane in a single-sided cavity. The coupling is mediated over a long distance by a laser beam, which is reflected off the cavity and creates an optical lattice for the atoms. It is enhanced by the cavity finesse as well as the square root of the number of atoms. Such a coupling can e.g. be used to sympathetically cool the membrane by laser cooling the atoms.

Here we present a new experimental setup, with which we want to enhance the bidirectional coupling observed in an earlier experiment without a cavity [1]. Besides placing the membrane in a cavity, the new setup allows to create larger ultracold atomic clouds at higher loading rates. Furthermore, a transverse lattice will suppress light-assisted collisions between atoms in the presence of the coupling laser light. With these improvements we expect to increase the coupling rate by several orders of magnitude and to observe substantial cooling of the membrane's thermal motion.

[1] S. Camerer, M. Korppi et al., PRL 107, 223001 (2011)