Application of lasers to ultracold atoms and molecules

Hélène Perrin (1) , Pierre Lemonde (2, 3) , Franck Pereira dos Santos (2, 3) , Vincent Josse (2, 4) , Bruno Laburthe-Tolra (5) , Frédéric Chevy (2, 6) , Daniel Comparat (2, 7)

1 Condensat de Bose-Einstein
2 IFRAF - Institut Francilien de Recherche sur les Atomes Froids
3 SYRTE - Systèmes de Référence Temps Espace
4 laboratoire Charles Fabry de l'Institut d'Optique / Optique atomique
5 GQD
6 LKB (Lhomond) - Laboratoire Kastler Brossel
7 LAC - Laboratoire Aimé Cotton

In this review, we discuss the impact of the development of lasers on ultracold atoms and molecules and their applications. After a brief historical review of laser cooling and Bose-Einstein condensation, we present important applications of ultra cold atoms, including time and frequency metrology, atom interferometry and inertial sensors, atom lasers, simulation of condensed matter systems, production and study of strongly correlated systems, and production of ultracold molecules.

Mots clés: laser; laser cooling; ultracold; atom; molecule; clock; metrology; interferometry

Domaines: Gaz Quantiques [cond-mat.quant-gas]

Hélène Perrin, Pierre Lemonde, Franck Pereira dos Santos, Vincent Josse, Bruno Laburthe-Tolra, et al.. Application of lasers to ultracold atoms and molecules. Comptes Rendus. Physique, 2011, 12 (4), pp.417-432. ⟨10.1016/j.crhy.2011.04.013⟩. ⟨hal-00563908v2⟩