Controlled deflection of cold atomic clouds and of Bose-Einstein condensates

Naceur Gaaloul (1, 2) , Laurence Pruvost (3) , Mourad Telmini (2) , Eric Charron (4)

1 PPM - Laboratoire de Photophysique Moléculaire
2 LSAMA - Laboratoire de Spectroscopie Atomique, Moléculaire et Applications
3 LAC - Laboratoire Aimé Cotton
4 Approches théoriques en dynamique quantique

We present a detailed, realistic proposal and analysis of the implementation of a cold atom deflector using time-dependent far off-resonance optical guides. An analytical model and numerical simulations are used to illustrate its characteristics when applied to both non-degenerate atomic ensembles and to Bose-Einstein condensates. Using for all relevant parameters values that are achieved with present technology, we show that it is possible to deflect almost entirely an ensemble of $^{87}$Rb atoms falling in the gravity field. We discuss the limits of this proposal, and illustrate its robustness against non-adiabatic transitions.

Domaines: Physique Quantique [quant-ph]

Naceur Gaaloul, Laurence Pruvost, Mourad Telmini, Eric Charron. Controlled deflection of cold atomic clouds and of Bose-Einstein condensates. The European Physical Journal D : Atomic, molecular, optical and plasma physics, 2009, 53 (3), pp.343. ⟨10.1140/epjd/e2009-00130-9⟩. ⟨hal-00172635v2⟩