Search results for "laser"
showing 10 items of 3161 documents
A Precise Photometric Ratio via Laser Excitation of the Sodium Layer II: Two-photon Excitation Using Lasers Detuned from 589.16 nm and 819.71 nm Reso…
2020
This article is the second in a pair of articles on the topic of the generation of a two-color artificial star (which we term a "laser photometric ratio star," or LPRS) of de-excitation light from neutral sodium atoms in the mesosphere, for use in precision telescopic measurements in astronomy and atmospheric physics, and more specifically for the calibration of measurements of dark energy using type Ia supernovae. The two techniques respectively described in both this and the previous article would each generate an LPRS with a precisely 1:1 ratio of yellow (589/590 nm) photons to near-infrared (819/820 nm) photons produced in the mesosphere. Both techniques would provide novel mechanisms f…
High-order harmonic generation via bound-bound transitions in an elliptically polarized laser field
2016
We use a simplified five-level system to investigate the high-order harmonic generation (HHG) spectrum emitted by an atom driven by a linearly or elliptically polarized laser field. For this model, the Schrödinger equation is exactly analytically reduced to the system of ordinary differential equations, which is solved numerically. Studying the intensity and polarization of the emitted radiation, we find that under high laser ellipticity the harmonic emission is suppressed. However, the harmonic intensity typically depends nonmonotonously on the laser ellipticity. Such anomalous behavior is very pronounced for the resonant harmonic. We offer an explanation of this behavior based on the incr…
ZERODUR based optical systems for quantum gas experiments in space
2019
Abstract Numerous quantum technologies make use of a microgravity environment e.g. in space. Operating in this extreme environment makes high demands on the experiment and especially the laser system regarding miniaturization and power consumption as well as mechanical and thermal stability. In our systems, optical modules consisting of ZERODUR® based optical benches with free-space optics are combined with fiber components. Suitability of the technology has been demonstrated in the successful sounding rocket missions FOKUS, KALEXUS and MAIUS-1. Here, we report on our toolkit for stable optical benches including mounts, fixed and adjustable mirrors as well as polarization maintaining fiber …
Precision atomic physics techniques for nuclear physics with radioactive beams
2012
Atomic physics techniques for the determination of ground-state properties of radioactive isotopes are very sensitive and provide accurate masses, binding energies, Q-values, charge radii, spins, and electromagnetic moments. Many fields in nuclear physics benefit from these highly accurate numbers. They give insight into details of the nuclear structure for a better understanding of the underlying effective interactions, provide important input for studies of fundamental symmetries in physics, and help to understand the nucleosynthesis processes that are responsible for the observed chemical abundances in the Universe. Penning-trap and and storage-ring mass spectrometry as well as laser spe…
Rydberg excitation of cold atoms inside a hollow core fiber
2017
We report on a versatile, highly controllable hybrid cold Rydberg atom fiber interface, based on laser cooled atoms transported into a hollow core Kagom\'{e} crystal fiber. Our experiments are the first to demonstrate the feasibility of exciting cold Rydberg atoms inside a hollow core fiber and we study the influence of the fiber on Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) signals. Using a temporally resolved detection method to distinguish between excitation and loss, we observe two different regimes of the Rydberg excitations: one EIT regime and one regime dominated by atom loss. These results are a substantial advancement towards future use of our system for quantum simulat…
Orientation and Alignment Echoes
2015
We present one of the simplest classical systems featuring the echo phenomenon---a collection of randomly oriented free rotors with dispersed rotational velocities. Following excitation by a pair of time-delayed impulsive kicks, the mean orientation or alignment of the ensemble exhibits multiple echoes and fractional echoes. We elucidate the mechanism of the echo formation by the kick-induced filamentation of phase space, and provide the first experimental demonstration of classical alignment echoes in a thermal gas of ${\mathrm{CO}}_{2}$ molecules excited by a pair of femtosecond laser pulses.
Resonance ionization spectroscopy of thorium isotopestowards a laser spectroscopic identification of the low-lying 7.6 eV isomer of 229Th
2011
International audience; In-source resonance ionization spectroscopy was used to identify an efficient and selective three step excitation/ionization scheme of thorium, suitable for titanium:sapphire (Ti:sa) lasers. The measurements were carried out in preparation of laser spectroscopic investigations for an identification of the low-lying 229 m Th isomer predicted at 7.6 ± 0.5 eV above the nuclear ground state. Using a sample of 232 Th, a multitude of optical transitions leading to over 20 previously unknown intermediate states of even parity as well as numerous high-lying odd parity auto-ionizing states were identified. Level energies were determined with an accuracy of 0.06 cm −1 for inte…
Narrow-band pulsed electron source based on near-threshold photoionization of Cs in a magneto-optical trap
2019
The newly developed method of time-of-flight (ToF) momentum microscopy was used to analyse the cold electron emission from a Cs 3D magneto-optical trap (MOT). Three-step resonant photoionization was implemented via two intermediate states (6P3/2 pumped with 852 nm laser and 7S1/2 with 1470 nm) and a tuneable femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser for the final ionization step. The magnetic field of the MOT is switched off during the photoionization step. The natural bandwidth of the fs-laser is reduced to 4 meV using optical spectral filters. Precise tuning of the photon energy makes it possible to observe the transition regime between direct photoemission into the open continuum and field induced i…
Space-borne Bose–Einstein condensation for precision interferometry
2018
Space offers virtually unlimited free-fall in gravity. Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) enables ineffable low kinetic energies corresponding to pico- or even femtokelvins. The combination of both features makes atom interferometers with unprecedented sensitivity for inertial forces possible and opens a new era for quantum gas experiments. On January 23, 2017, we created Bose-Einstein condensates in space on the sounding rocket mission MAIUS-1 and conducted 110 experiments central to matter-wave interferometry. In particular, we have explored laser cooling and trapping in the presence of large accelerations as experienced during launch, and have studied the evolution, manipulation and interf…
Optical Shielding of Destructive Chemical Reactions between Ultracold Ground-State NaRb Molecules
2020
Polar quantum gases represent promising platforms for studying many-body physics and strongly correlated systems with possible applications e.g. in quantum simulation or quantum computation. Due to their large permanent electric dipole moment polar molecules in electric field exhibit strong long-range anisotropic dipole-dipole interactions (DDIs). The creation and trapping of ultracold dipolar diatomic molecules of various species are feasible in many experimental groups nowadays. However long time trapping is still a challenge even in the case of the so called nonreactive molecules which are supposed to be immune against inelastic collisions in their absolute ground state [1] . Various hyp…