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arXiv · 1909.08352

Optical Traps for sympathetic Cooling of Ions with ultracold neutral Atoms

J. Schmidt·P. Weckesser·F. Thielemann·T. Schaetz·L. Karpa
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Abstract

We report the trapping of ultracold neutral $ \text{Rb}$ atoms and $ \text{Ba}^+ $ ions in a common optical potential in absence of any radiofrequency (RF) fields. We prepare $ \text{Ba}^+ $ at $ 370 ~ \mu K $ and demonstrate efficient sympathetic cooling by $100 ~ \mu K $ after one collision. Our approach is currently limited by the $ \text{Rb}$ density and related three-body losses, but it overcomes the fundamental limitation in RF traps set by RF-driven, micromotion-induced heating. It is applicable to a wide range of ion-atom species, and may enable novel ultracold chemistry experiments and complex many-body dynamics.

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J. Schmidt, P. Weckesser, F. Thielemann, T. Schaetz, L. Karpa. 2019-09-18. Optical Traps for sympathetic Cooling of Ions with ultracold neutral Atoms. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.124.053402

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