Controlled deflection of cold atomic clouds and of Bose-Einstein condensates

TL;DR

This paper proposes a realistic method to deflect cold atomic clouds and Bose-Einstein condensates using time-dependent optical guides, demonstrating near-complete deflection with current technology and analyzing its robustness.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed, practical approach for controlling atomic trajectories with optical guides, applicable to both non-degenerate ensembles and BECs, supported by analytical and numerical analysis.

Findings

Near-complete deflection of $^{87}$Rb atoms achievable

Method robust against non-adiabatic transitions

Applicable with current experimental technology

Abstract

We present a detailed, realistic proposal and analysis of the implementation of a cold atom deflector using time-dependent far off-resonance optical guides. An analytical model and numerical simulations are used to illustrate its characteristics when applied to both non-degenerate atomic ensembles and to Bose-Einstein condensates. Using for all relevant parameters values that are achieved with present technology, we show that it is possible to deflect almost entirely an ensemble of $^{87}$Rb atoms falling in the gravity field. We discuss the limits of this proposal, and illustrate its robustness against non-adiabatic transitions.