Nearest-Neighbor Detection of Atoms in a 1D Optical Lattice by Fluorescence Imaging

TL;DR

This paper presents a fluorescence imaging technique that surpasses the diffraction limit to detect atom positions in a 1D optical lattice, enabling identification of nearest neighbors and analysis of atom interactions.

Contribution

The authors develop a method for resolving atoms in a 1D optical lattice beyond the diffraction limit, allowing for precise neighbor detection and interaction analysis.

Findings

Reliable inference of atom separation down to nearest neighbors at 433 nm

Observation of light-induced losses for atoms in the same lattice site

No light-induced losses observed between atoms in adjacent sites

Abstract

We overcome the diffraction limit in fluorescence imaging of neutral atoms in a sparsely filled one-dimensional optical lattice. At a periodicity of 433 nm, we reliably infer the separation of two atoms down to nearest neighbors. We observe light induced losses of atoms occupying the same lattice site, while for atoms in adjacent lattice sites, no losses due to light induced interactions occur. Our method points towards characterization of correlated quantum states in optical lattice systems with filling factors of up to one atom per lattice site.