Search results for "Sympathetic cooling"
showing 8 items of 8 documents
Interacting Rubidium and Caesium Atoms
2007
Binary mixtures of ultracold atoms are of great interest in the research field of quantum optics and are studied by several groups aiming at different applications. This paper works with rubidium and caesium, which are simultaneously stored in a magnetic trap. Species-selective microwave cooling is used on the rubidium groundstate hyperfine transition. Caesium is sympathetically cooled via elastic collisions with rubidium. When cooling down the mixture to temperatures below 1 muK, below 4 muK we observe strong losses of caesium. Analysing the dynamics of sympathetic cooling, lower limit for the modulus of the rubidium-caesium triplet s-wave scattering length is estimated.
Preparing single ultra-cold antihydrogen atoms for free-fall in GBAR
2014
We discuss an experimental approach allowing to prepare antihydrogen atoms for the GBAR experiment. We study the feasibility of all necessary experimental steps: The capture of incoming $\bar{\rm H}^{+}$ ions at keV energies in a deep linear RF trap, sympathetic cooling by laser cooled Be+ ions, transfer to a miniaturized trap and Raman sideband cooling of an ion pair to the motional ground state, and further reducing the momentum of the wavepacket by adiabatic opening of the trap. For each step, we point out the experimental challenges and discuss the efficiency and characteristic times, showing that capture and cooling are possible within a few seconds. We discuss an experimental approach…
A novel cooling scheme for antiprotons
2006
We propose a novel technique which uses laser-cooled negative osmium ions for sympathetic cooling of antiprotons. Temperatures down to the sub-millikelvin range might be achievable. These antiprotons could be used to form antihydrogen at ultra-cold temperatures, thus allowing efficient magnetic trapping of antihydrogen for high-resolution laser spectroscopy. Antihydrogen at sub-millikelvin temperatures might also enable first direct measurements of the gravitational acceleration of antimatter. Currently, no other technique exists which allows the cooling of large numbers of antiprotons to temperatures below that of the surrounding trap.
Trapping and sympathetic cooling of single thorium ions for spectroscopy
2018
Precision optical spectroscopy of exotic ions reveals accurate information about nuclear properties such as charge radii and magnetic and quadrupole moments. Thorium ions exhibit unique nuclear properties with high relevance for testing symmetries of nature. We report loading and trapping of single $^{232}$Th$^+$ ions in a linear Paul trap, embedded into and sympathetically cooled by small crystals of trapped $^{40}$Ca$^+$ ions. Trapped Th ions are identified in a non-destructive manner from the voids in the laser-induced Ca fluorescence pattern emitted by the crystal, and alternatively, by means of a time-of-flight signal when extracting ions from the Paul trap and steering them into an ex…
Laser cooling of externally produced Mg ions in a Penning trap for sympathetic cooling of highly charged ions
2012
We have performed laser cooling of Mg ions confined in a Penning trap. The externally produced ions were captured in flight, stored and laser cooled. Laser-induced fluorescence was observed perpendicular to the cooling laser axis. Optical detection down to the single ion level together with electronic detection of the ion oscillations inside the Penning trap have been used to acquire information on the ion storage time, ion number and ion temperature. Evidence for formation of ion crystals has been observed. These investigations are an important prerequisite for sympathetic cooling of simultaneously stored highly-charged ions and precision laser spectroscopy of forbidden transitions in thes…
LC circuit mediated sympathetic cooling of a proton via image currents
2021
Abstract Efficient cooling of trapped charged particles is essential in many fundamental physics experiments, for high-precision metrology, and for quantum technology. Until now, ion-ion coupling for sympathetic cooling or quantum state control has been limited to ion species with accessible optical transitions or has required close-range Coulomb interactions. To overcome this limitation and further develop scalable quantum control techniques, there has been a sustained desire to extend laser-cooling techniques to particles in macroscopically separated traps, opening quantum control techniques to previously inaccessible particles such as highly charged ions, molecular ions, and antimatter p…
Sympathetic cooling of a trapped proton mediated by an LC circuit
2021
Efficient cooling of trapped charged particles is essential to many fundamental physics experiments1,2, to high-precision metrology3,4 and to quantum technology5,6. Until now, sympathetic cooling has required close-range Coulomb interactions7,8, but there has been a sustained desire to bring laser-cooling techniques to particles in macroscopically separated traps5,9,10, extending quantum control techniques to previously inaccessible particles such as highly charged ions, molecular ions and antimatter. Here we demonstrate sympathetic cooling of a single proton using laser-cooled Be+ ions in spatially separated Penning traps. The traps are connected by a superconducting LC circuit that enable…
Sympathetic cooling of protons and antiprotons with a common endcap Penning trap.
2017
We present an experiment to sympathetically cool protons and antiprotons in a Penning trap by resonantly coupling the particles to laser cooled beryllium ions using a common endcap technique. Our analysis shows that preparation of (anti)protons at mK temperatures on timescales of tens of seconds is feasible. Successful implementation of the technique will have immediate and significant impact on high-precision comparisons of the fundamental properties of protons and antiprotons. This in turn will provide some of the most stringent tests of the fundamental symmetries of the Standard Model.