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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 30: Poster II
Q 30.6: Poster
Tuesday, March 3, 2009, 16:30–19:00, VMP 9 Poster
Towards the realization of an atomic erbium quantum gas — •Jörg Drückhammer, Riad Bourouis, and Martin Weitz — Institut für Angewandte Physik, Universität Bonn, Wegelerstr. 8, 53115 Bonn, Germany
The erbium atom in its 3H6 electronic ground state possesses a large orbital angular momentum of L = 5. All so far realized quantum gases consist of atoms with an S-ground state configuration, so that in laser fields with detuning above the upper state fine structure splitting the optical dipole trapping potential is determined by the scalar electronic polarizability. In contrast, for an erbium quantum gas (with L > 0) the trapping potential also for far detuned dissipation-less trapping laser fields would become dependent on the internal atomic state (spin). Moreover, Raman transitions between different ground state spin projections then become possible with e.g. Nd:YAG laser fields, which can allow for a Fourier-synthesis of in principle arbitrarily shaped lattice potentials using the technique of multiphoton lattices [1]. This has prospects for novel quantum phase transitions in e.g. strongly correlated frustrated lattice configurations.
We present here experimental work aimed at laser cooling [2] and dipole trapping of atomic erbium, which should then allow for evaporative cooling towards quantum degeneracy by all-optical means. The current status of the experimental setup will be summarized.
[1]T. Salger, C. Geckeler, S. Kling und M. Weitz, PRL 99, 190405(2007)
[2]J. J. McClelland and J.L. Hanssen, PRL 96 , 143005(2006)