Erlangen 2018 – scientific programme
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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 63: Cold atoms VII - micromachines (joint session A/Q)
Q 63.3: Talk
Friday, March 9, 2018, 11:05–11:20, K 0.011
Is a Stern-Gerlach splitter possible with an ion beam? — •Carsten Henkel1, Georg Jacob2, Felix Stopp2, Ferdinand Schmidt-Kaler2, Yonathan Japha3, Mark Keil3, and Ron Folman3 — 1Universität Potsdam — 2J. Gutenberg-Universität Mainz — 3B Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva
The Stern-Gerlach effect for free electrons has been discussed since the advent of quantum mechanics and was found to be challenging due to the uncertainty in the Lorentz force [1,2]. We propose realising a spin filter for a pulsed ion beam using the Stern-Gerlach force of a magnetic micro-grating. The field gradient is created by an array of wires integrated into a microchip. In distinction to the standard setup, both the spin and the magnetic field rotate along the beam path [3]. The Ca+ ions are laser cooled and released from a Paul trap, giving a pulsed beam of approximately 1eV with high brightness and very narrow velocity distribution [4]. Due to the large ion/electron mass ratio, the Lorentz force does not prevent the spin splitting. It can even be put to use, in conjunction with a bias field, in order to balance the image charge interaction and to prevent the ions from crashing onto the chip surface. We discuss semiclassical techniques to simulate the ion trajectories and estimate the spin-dependent splitting of the beam.
[1] B. M. Garraway and S. Stenholm, Contemp. Phys. 43 (2002) 147
[2] H. Batelaan, Am. J. Phys. 70 (2002) 325
[3] E. Enga and M. Bloom, Can. J. Phys. 48 (1970) 2466
[4] G. Jacob & al, Phys. Rev. Lett. 117 (2016) 043001