arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Victor Gomer.
We trap a single cesium atom in a standing-wave optical dipole trap. Special experimental procedures, designed to work with single atoms, are used to measure the oscillation frequency and the atomic energy distribution in the dipole trap. These methods rely on unambiguously detecting presence or loss of the atom using its resonance fluorescence in the magneto-optical trap.
Using optical dipole forces we have realized controlled transport of a single or any desired small number of neutral atoms over a distance of a centimeter with sub-micrometer precision. A standing wave dipole trap is loaded with a prescribed number of cesium atoms from a magneto-optical trap. Mutual detuning of the counter-propagating laser beams moves the interference pattern, allowing us to accelerate and stop the atoms at preselected points along the standing wave. The transportation efficiency is close to 100%. This optical "single-atom conveyor belt" represents a versatile tool for future experiments requiring deterministic delivery of a prescribed number of atoms on demand.