Atomic and optical physics

原子與光學物理 (PHYS7078)
113學年-2
Week 12: Atom optics
藍劭宇
Email: sylan@[Link]
Office: 629
[Link]
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 Wave nature of atoms
➢ Two independent condensates brought to overlap (in time of flight) display clear
interference fringes
Thermal 0.9 TC 0.5 TC

[Andrews et al., Science 1998]

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 Young’s double slit experiment
➢ Analogy
Thermal 0.9 TC

with and
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 Wave nature of atoms

Thermal 0.9 TC

➢ Diffraction through material masks

➢ Each spot corresponds to the impact of a single atom onto the detector
➢ 𝑣 = 83 cm/s ⇒ 𝜆~ 23 nm at the double slit mask
[Link]
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ticle%20Duality%20Model%20demonstrates%20how%20matter,one%20or%20two%20open%20slits.
 Light grating
Thin grating limit: Kapitza-Dirac diffraction

➢ Light may be used instead of material masks, realizing a

Thermal 0.9 TC
phase mask with transmission
➢ A light standing wave as diffraction grating

➢ The Schrödinger equation with a periodic potential

x

➢ As an ansatz for the solution we choose a set of plane waves with multiples of the
photon momentum ℏ𝑘 and an amplitude 𝑐𝑛

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 Light grating
Thin grating limit: Kapitza-Dirac diffraction
➢ Applying the trial wave function to each of the terms of our Schördinger equation gives us
the time derivative Thermal 𝜕 0.9𝑑𝑐
TC (𝑡)
𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑥
𝑖ℏ 𝜓 = 𝑖ℏ ෍ 𝑒
𝜕𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑛

ℏ2 𝜕 2 ℏ2 𝑘 2
➢ the kinetic term − 𝜓 = ෍ 𝑛 2 𝑐 𝑡 𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑥
𝑛
2𝑚𝑒 𝜕𝑥 2 2𝑚𝑒
𝑛

➢ the potential energy term

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 Light grating
Thin grating limit: Kapitza-Dirac diffraction
➢ Combining all three terms together yields differential equations for the amplitudes 𝑐𝑛
Thermal 0.9 TC

➢ It can clearly be seen that the atoms are only allowed to have a momentum transfer in
multiples of 2ℏ𝑘,

➢ When the kinetic energy of the atom is much smaller than the potential energy ℏ𝑘2𝑛2/
(2𝑚) ≪ 𝑉0/(2ℏ), the wave-function will be restricted to a tiny area, which will lead to huge
momentum uncertainty
➢ This solution is called diffraction regime as the particles can diffract in many orders of ±2ℏ𝑘

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 Light grating
Thin grating limit: Kapitza-Dirac diffraction

0.9 TC

➢ The solution then can be written as

➢ 𝑑𝑚 = 𝑐2𝑚 with 𝑚 = 0, ±1, ±2, . . . and 𝐽𝑚 being the Bessel functions. The absolute square of
|𝑑𝑚 |2 describes the probability that an atom can be found in the 𝑚-th diffraction order

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 Light grating
Thin grating limit: Kapitza-Dirac diffraction

Thermal 0.9 TC

➢ Probability weighting on each diffraction term

|𝑑𝑚 |2

➢ Gould, P. L., et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 56, 827 (1986). 9

 Light grating
Thin grating limit: Kapitza-Dirac diffraction
➢ What is the condition for atoms crossing the light beam?
Atoms do not move along 𝑥
Thermal 0.9 TC

➢ During the interaction time, 𝑇 = 𝑊/𝑣 , an atom samples the

frequency of a photon with an uncertainty of 1/𝑇. This
corresponds to an uncertainty in the amount of energy
absorbed by the atoms of Δ𝐸 = ℏ /(2𝑇)

➢ Energy conservation is satisfied by emitting and absorbing photons of different frequency

from the light field. When Δ𝐸 is much larger than the recoil shift of the atom, 2𝜀 = 2ℏ2𝑘2/𝑚,
associated with the absorption of a photon, many different diffraction orders can be reached
➢ Possible only if 𝑇 < ℏ/4𝜀: the interaction time of the atoms with light is shorter than
the inverse of the recoil frequency, the recoil energy is not resolved by the wide
Fourier width of the pulse 10
 Light grating
Thick grating limit: Bragg diffraction
ℏ𝑘2𝑛2
➢ When the kinetic energy is much larger than the potential energy ≫ 𝑉0/(2ℏ)
2𝑚
Thermal 0.9 TC
➢ The Bragg regime refers to the case where the atom-photon interacting time is longer than
the inverse of the recoil frequency. The frequency shift due to the different momenta can
no longer be ignored and energy conservation must be obeyed in the process.
1
Δ𝐸𝑘(𝑚) = [ 𝑝𝑖 + 2𝑚ℏ𝑘 2 − 𝑝𝑖2 ]
2𝑚
➢ The only condition that satisfies Δ𝐸𝑘 𝑚 = 0 is 𝑝𝑖 = −𝑚ℏ𝑘
要滿足動能守恆條件

➢ Atoms maintain their speed but change their direction in

the diffraction process, i.e., momentum of the atoms
changes from−𝑚ℏ𝑘 to 𝑚ℏ𝑘, with integer 𝑚
像反彈一樣
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 Light grating
Thick grating limit: Bragg diffraction

Thermal 0.9 TC

➢ The atom is barely restricted in space which in turn allows only for a small
momentum uncertainty

➢ Only two solutions exist and the probability of finding an atom

in each of those solutions is oscillating over time

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 Light grating
Thick grating limit: Bragg diffraction

Thermal 0.9 TC

➢ The atom is barely restricted in space which in turn allows only for a small
momentum uncertainty

➢ Only two solutions exist and the probability of finding an

electron in each of those solutions is oscillating over time
小結：
透過interaction time 可以調控atom在光場中的動量以及波函數，做到像是光學元件中的分光
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鏡或是鏡子等作用．在這邊的話，Bragg diffraction 的行為可以說像鏡子．
 Mirror and Beamsplitter
➢ Bragg diffraction

Thermal
➢ Two-photon Raman Transition

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 Two photon Raman transition
➢ A Raman transition involves two laser beams with frequencies 𝜔𝐿1 and 𝜔𝐿2, and the atom
interacts with an electric field that has two frequency components
Thermal 0.9 TC

➢ A Raman transition between two atomic levels, labelled 1 and 2, involves a third
atomic level. This third level is labelled 𝑖 for intermediate

➢ Firstly, we consider the perturbation produced by the light at 𝜔𝐿1 for

the transition between levels 1 and 𝑖.
➢ For a weak perturbation, the lower state |1ۧ has amplitude 𝑐1(0) = 1
and the amplitude of |𝑖ۧ

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 Two photon Raman transition

0.9 TC
➢ We define the differenceThermal
between the laser frequency 𝜔𝐿1, and the frequency of the
transition between levels 1 and 𝑖 as

➢ The wavefunction of the atom is

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 Two photon Raman transition
➢ Use Thermal
in single-photon transition and make the replacements 𝜔 → 𝜔𝐿2,
𝜔0 → 𝜔2 − 𝜔𝑖 and Ω → Ω2𝑖 to obtain

➢ Insertion of the expression for 𝑐𝑖 (𝑡) yields

➢ Integration and the rotating-wave approximation lead to

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 Two photon Raman transition
➢ Thermal
is the
frequency detuning from the Raman resonance condition
that the difference in the laser frequencies matches the energy difference between levels 1
and 2, over ℏ
➢ Defining an effective Rabi frequency as

➢ The first term can be neglected when 𝛿 ≪ |Δ| to yield

這個條件使得virtual state幾乎沒有被佔據，可以adiabatically eliminate c_i(t) term

➢ This is the same as one-photon transitions, but Ωeff has replaced Ω

跟week3的rabi oscillation作比較，只是他這裡湊成了sinc fumction
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 Two photon Raman transition
➢ Raman transitions give rise
Thermal
to Rabi oscillations, e.g. a π-pulse transfers all the population
from 1 to 2, or the reverse. Raman transitions are coherent in the same way as radio-
frequency, or microwave, transitions directly between the two-levels
➢ The duration of a π-pulse is given by
➢ For simplicity, we shall assume that both Raman beams have similar intensities so
that Ω𝑖1~Ω2𝑖 ~ Ω and hence Ωeff ~ Ω2/2Δ
➢ Scattering of photons on the transition |1ۧ to |𝑖ۧ is ΓΩ2/4Δ2 at Δ ≫ Γ, Ω

➢ Thus the number of spontaneously emitted photons during the Raman pulse is

➢ This shows that spontaneous emission is negligible when Δ ≫ Γ

ΓΩ^2/(4Δ^2)≪Ωeff∼ Ω^2/(2Δ) Γ/4Δ≪1 Δ≫Γ 19
小結Raman transition 的一大優點：透過大 detuning 可以得到長時間的相干控制
 Two photon Raman transition
➢ Consider the Raman transition
Thermal between the two hyperfine levels in the 3s ground

configuration of sodium driven by two laser beams with frequencies such that
Δ = 2𝜋 × 3 GHz.

➢ The 3p 2P1/2 level acts as the intermediate level and has Γ = 2𝜋 × 107 s−1 . Thus
𝑅𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑡π ~ 0.01—this means that the atoms can be subjected to many 𝜋-pulses
before there is a spontaneous emission event that destroys the coherence

➢ The duration of a π-pulse as

➢ A Raman experiment carried out with two laser beams, each of intensity 3𝐼sat, and the
above values of Δ and Γ for sodium, the pulse has a duration of 𝑡π = 10 μs

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 Two photon Raman transition
|𝑒 ۧ
|𝑖, 𝑃 + ℏ𝒌𝟏 ۧ

ℏ𝒌𝟏 ℏ𝒌𝟐

|𝑠, 𝑝 = ℏ 𝒌𝟏 − 𝒌𝟐 ۧ
|𝑔ۧ

➢ 𝜋 pulse: Mirror ➢ 𝜋/2 pulse: Beamsplitter

|𝜑ۧ = |𝑔, 𝑝ۧ 1 −𝑖
|𝜑 ۧ = |𝑔, 𝑝ۧ + | 𝑠, 𝑝 + ℏ 𝒌𝟏 − 𝒌𝟐 ۧ
|𝜑ۧ = |𝑠, 𝑝 + ℏ 𝒌𝟏 − 𝒌𝟐 ۧ 2 2
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 Bloch oscillations
➢ The eigenfunctions Ψ ofThermal
a particle in a periodic potential
free particle In optical lattice

where

can be written as

labeled by a discrete band index 𝑛 and

a continuous quasimomentum 𝑞
➢ If a constant force 𝐹 is suddenly applied to the particle Under a weak uniform force

the wave function is preserved but with

time-dependent quasimomentum 𝑞(𝑡)

with where −ℏ𝑘 ≤ 𝑞 ≤ ℏ𝑘 22

 Bloch oscillations
➢ When 𝐹 is weak enoughThermal
not to induce interband transitions

➢ The wave function Ψ(𝑥, 𝑡) is periodic in time with a period

2ℏ𝑘
𝜏𝐵 =
|𝐹|
corresponding to a 2𝜋/𝑎 shift for the quasimomentum or
equivalently to a full scan of the first Brillouin zone

➢ Bloch oscillations arise because the atom, accelerated in

momentum space by a constant force, periodically satisfies
the Bragg condition, gets reflected (like a two-level system
in Bragg diffraction), and then continues the cycle.

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Phys. Rev. A 55, 2989 (1997)
 Bloch oscillations
➢ In cold atoms community, the force is typically applied through gravity or moving optical lattice
Thermal

➢ If the frequencies of the two lattice beams do not exactly coincide, the lattice will move.
Assuming two beams with the same amplitude 𝐸0 , the resulting field is

➢ The lattice is moving at a velocity

➢ Now we have a linear frequency sweep of one beam relative to the other one

➢ The constant force 𝐹 is then

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 Bloch oscillations
Thermal
8𝜔𝑟
➢ The Bloch period for the inertial force 𝜏𝐵 =
𝜔2ሶ

➢ Thus the mean atomic velocity increases by 2ℏ𝑘 during each Bloch period

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 Bloch oscillations
Quantum optics picture Thermal
➢ Neglect spontaneous emission, the atoms momentum
can change by units of ℏ(𝑘1 − 𝑘2)~2ℏ𝑘 by absorbing a
photon from one wave and emitting it into the other in a
stimulated way

➢ If the atoms are initially prepared with a momentum spread

much smaller than 2ℏ𝑘 and with a kinetic energy near zero,
their possible states after interaction with the light fields are
discrete points |𝑝 = 2𝑗ℏ𝑘, 𝐸 = 4𝑗 2 𝐸𝑅 ൿ (𝑗 = 0,1,2,3 . . . ) on the
momentum-energy parabola of the free particle
➢ The gain in kinetic energy is provided by the frequency difference between the two laser
waves: the atoms are accelerated in the direction of the beam with the higher frequency
by absorbing photons from it and reemitting low-frequency photons into the other. 26
 Bloch oscillations
𝐸 = 4𝑗 2 𝐸𝑅 ൿ → |𝑝 = 2(𝑗 + 1)ℏ𝑘, 𝐸 = 4(𝑗 + 1)2 𝐸𝑅 ൿ is resonant for
➢ The transition |𝑝 = 2𝑗ℏ𝑘,Thermal
an angular frequency difference Δ𝜔 = 4(2𝑗 + 1)𝐸𝑅 /ℏ.
➢ As we start with the atoms at rest ( 𝑗 = 0) and Δ𝜔 = 0, these resonances are encountered
sequentially and a gain of atomic momentum of 2ℏ𝑘 can be expected after each change in the
frequency difference of 8𝐸𝑅 /ℏ

➢ First order Bragg diffraction in sequence

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