Velocity-Selection and Tunneling of Rubidium Atoms
Abstract
We present the current status of an experiment to resolve spatial tunneling of atomic Rubidium through an optical potential barrier. To obtain the long de Broglie wavelength necessary for atoms to tunnel through our optical barrier, we velocity-select the lowest-energy atoms from our sample. In one dimension, velocity selection can be more efficient than evaporative cooling, as well as providing the sharp energy cutoff required for a clear signature of tunneling. We use a 1D optical lattice to select the coldest atoms and translate them into contact with a repulsive sheet of light. Atoms are trapped in a local potential well formed by the combination of gravity and the blue-detuned light sheet. By varying the intensity and width of the beam, the tunneling rate of atoms from this quasi-bound state can be modified. The ultimate goal is to probe the atoms during the process of escape through the barrier.
- Publication:
-
APS Division of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- June 2000
- Bibcode:
- 2000APS..DMP..G309M