arXiv subjects

P. Maioli

Publications and source records attributed to P. Maioli.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2007

Collisional properties of sympathetically cooled $^{39}$K

We report the experimental evidence of the sympathetic cooling of $^{39}$K with $^{87}$Rb down to 1 $μ$K, obtained in a novel tight confining magnetic trap. This allowed us to perform the first direct measurement of the elastic cross section of $^{39}$K below 50 $μ$K. The result obtained for the triplet scattering length, $a_T = -51(7)$ Bohr radii, agrees with previous results derived from photoassociation spectra and from Feshbach spectroscopy of $^{40}$K.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2006

Intense slow beams of bosonic potassium isotopes

We report on an experimental realization of a two-dimensional magneto-optical trap (2D-MOT) that allows the generation of cold atomic beams of 39K and 41K bosonic potassium isotopes. The high measured fluxes up to 1.0x10^11 atoms/s and low atomic velocities around 33 m/s are well suited for a fast and reliable 3D-MOT loading, a basilar feature for new generation experiments on Bose-Einstein condensation of dilute atomic samples. We also present a simple multilevel theoretical model for the calculation of the light-induced force acting on an atom moving in a MOT. The model gives a good agreement between predicted and measured flux and velocity values for our 2D-MOT.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2001

Generating and probing a two-photon Fock state with a single atom in a cavity

A two-photon Fock state is prepared in a cavity sustaining a "source mode " and a "target mode", with a single circular Rydberg atom. In a third-order Raman process, the atom emits a photon in the target while scattering one photon from the source into the target. The final two-photon state is probed by measuring by Ramsey interferometry the cavity light shifts induced by the target field on the same atom. Extensions to other multi-photon processes and to a new type of micromaser are briefly discussed.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2001

Coherent control of an atomic collision in a cavity

Following a recent proposal by S. B. Zheng and G. C. Guo (Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 2392 (2000)), we report an experiment in which two Rydberg atoms crossing a non-resonant cavity are entangled by coherent energy exchange. The process, mediated by the virtual emission and absorption of a microwave photon, is characterized by a collision mixing angle four orders of magnitude larger than for atoms colliding in free space with the same impact parameter. The final entangled state is controlled by adjusting the atom-cavity detuning. This procedure, essentially insensitive to thermal fields and to photon decay, opens promising perspectives for complex entanglement manipulations.

quant-ph↗