Physics 2108-S (Special Topics in QO)
Pushing atoms around with light: from coherent atom-photon interactions to slowing, cooling, and trapping atoms
Lecturer:
Aephraim Steinberg
(MP 1103, email address [my last name][at][physics.utoronto.ca])
N.B.: this is a 6-week "modular" course, running from 27 Feb to 6 Apr 2023. For credit, it must be combined with another modular course.
Description:
This 6-week modular grad course will introduce the several ways in which light (as well as static, RF, and microwave em fields) can exert forces on (mostly) neutral atoms, focusing on the techniques and technologies underlying the cooling and trapping of atoms, and their applications in modern research. We will spend some time reviewing how to think about near-resonant interactions, with special emphasis on the interplay between optical polarisation and atomic angular momentum. We will talk about the origins of the temperature and density limitations of optical molasses and magneto-optic traps, and the comparative advantages and disadvantages of optical, magnetic, and magneto-optical traps for various purposes. We will discuss the quantum treatment of atomic motion, and applications such as quantum interferometry (of various sorts). We will also touch on coherent effects such as EIT and their relevance to interesting approaches like velocity-selective coherent population trapping, grey molasses, et cetera.
ORGANISATIONAL MEETING: Monday 27 February 2023, 2:10 pm, MP 1115
Please sign up at https://piazza.com/utoronto.ca/summer2023/phy2108s
to join the Piazza page for this class, in order to receive announcements + assignments and participate in online discussions.
MEETING CALENDAR:
Lecture 1: Mon 26 Feb
tentative calendar thenceforth:
2 = W 1 Mar
3 = M 6 Mar
4 = Th 9 Mar
5 = M 13 Mar
6 = W 15 Mar
7 = Th 16 Mar
8 = W 29 Mar
9 = Th 30 Mar
10 = M 3 Apr
11 = W 5 Apr
12 = Th 6 Apr
READING ASSIGNMENTS:
-
MAIN TEXTBOOK = Laser Cooling and Trapping by Metcalf and van der Straten (Springer, 2013)
- If you need to review/deepen your general quantum optics (atom-light interactions, semiclassical optics) background, my go-to recommendation remains Dan Steck's lecture notes.
-
Specific readings to be assigned throughout term
- For first week of module:
- You should already be familiar with the material in chapters 1 & 2; this would be a good opportunity to review and/or fill in any gaps.
- Review section 2.4 (for concepts and orders of magnitude about saturation, absorption cross-sections, et cetera) and section 5.2 (Maxwell-Boltzmann).
- Read chapter 4 (pp. 39-53) about multilevel atoms.
- For second week (6.3.23):
- Read chapter 3 (pp 29-37)
- Start on chapter 5 (pp 57-70)
- For weeks 3-4 (14.3.23):
- Finish chapter 5
- Skim chapter 6
- Chapter 7 on optical molasses
- Start looking at 8.2-3 (polarization-gradient cooling), 10.2-3 (magnetic traps), and 11.4 (magneto-optical trapping).
- For weeks 5-6, and beyond (29.3.23):
- Textbook material
- Finish sections 8.2 and 8.4; read 8.7 and 8.8
- Finish 10.2-3
- Finish ch. 11
- Articles to read (as I announced in class, I think it worthwhile to at least skim all of these articles -- I would recommend reading closely at least the 1988 paper on the observation of sub-Doppler cooling)
- Laser Deceleration of an Atomic Beam
William D. Phillips and Harold Metcalf
Phys. Rev. Lett. 48, 596 – Published 1 March 1982
- First Observation of Magnetically Trapped Neutral Atoms
Alan L. Migdall, John V. Prodan, William D. Phillips, Thomas H. Bergeman, and Harold J. Metcalf
Phys. Rev. Lett. 54, 2596 – Published 17 June 1985
- Three-dimensional viscous confinement and cooling of atoms by resonance radiation pressure
Steven Chu, L. Hollberg, J. E. Bjorkholm, Alex Cable, and A. Ashkin
Phys. Rev. Lett. 55, 48 – Published 1 July 1985
- Observation of a single-beam gradient force optical trap for dielectric particles
A. Ashkin, J. M. Dziedzic, J. E. Bjorkholm, and Steven Chu
Optics Letters Vol. 11, Issue 5, pp. 288-290 (1986) https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.11.000288
- Experimental Observation of Optically Trapped Atoms
Steven Chu, J. E. Bjorkholm, A. Ashkin, and A. Cable
Phys. Rev. Lett. 57, 314 – Published 21 July 1986
- Trapping of Neutral Sodium Atoms with Radiation Pressure
E. L. Raab, M. Prentiss, Alex Cable, Steven Chu, and D. E. Pritchard
Phys. Rev. Lett. 59, 2631 – Published 7 December 1987
- Observation of Atoms Laser Cooled below the Doppler Limit
Paul D. Lett, Richard N. Watts, Christoph I. Westbrook, William D. Phillips, Phillip L. Gould, and Harold J. Metcalf
Phys. Rev. Lett. 61, 169 – Published 11 July 1988
-
And a few further papers for those who want to read in more depth or about more advanced techniques and applications:
-
Optical molasses
P. D. Lett, W. D. Phillips, S. L. Rolston, C. E. Tanner, R. N. Watts, and C. I. Westbrook
JOSA B 11, 2084 (1989)
- Laser Cooling below the One-Photon Recoil Energy by Velocity-Selective Coherent Population Trapping
A. Aspect, E. Arimondo, R. Kaiser, N. Vansteenkiste, and C. Cohen-Tannoudji
Phys. Rev. Lett. 61, 826 – Published 15 August 1988
- Three-Dimensional Laser Cooling of Helium Beyond the Single-Photon Recoil Limit
J. Lawall, S. Kulin, B. Saubamea, N. Bigelow, M. Leduc, and C. Cohen-Tannoudji
Phys. Rev. Lett. 75, 4194 – Published 4 December 1995
- A Well-Collimated Quasi-Continuous Atom Laser
E. W. HAGLEY, L. DENG, M. KOZUMA, J. WEN, K. HELMERSON, S. L. ROLSTON, AND W. D. PHILLIPS
SCIENCE
12 Mar 1999
Vol 283, Issue 5408
pp. 1706-1709
DOI: 10.1126/science.283.5408.170
- Quantized Rotation of Atoms from Photons with Orbital Angular Momentum
M. F. Andersen, C. Ryu, Pierre Cladé, Vasant Natarajan, A. Vaziri, K. Helmerson, and W. D. Phillips
Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 170406 – Published 26 October 2006
PROBLEM SETS:
Departmental course listing for PHY2108-S
Back to Aephraim
Steinberg's Home Page