arXiv · quant-ph/0301018
Thermally induced spin flips above an atom chip
Abstract
We describe an experiment in which Bose-Einstein condensates and cold atom clouds are held by a microscopic magnetic trap near a room temperature metal wire 500 $μ$m in diameter. The ensemble of atoms breaks into fragments when it is brought close to the ceramic-coated aluminum surface of the wire, showing that fragmentation is not peculiar to copper surfaces. The lifetime for atoms to remain in the microtrap is measured over a range of distances down to $27 μ$m from the surface of the metal. We observe the loss of atoms from the microtrap due to spin flips. These are induced by radio-frequency thermal fluctuations of the magnetic field near the surface, as predicted but not previously observed.
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M. P. A. Jones, C. J. Vale, D. Sahagun, B. V. Hall, E. A. Hinds. 2003-01-17. Thermally induced spin flips above an atom chip. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.91.080401
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