Dynamics of reflection of ultracold atoms from a periodic 1D magnetic lattice potential

TL;DR

This paper experimentally investigates how ultracold atoms reflect off a 1D magnetic lattice potential, analyzing the effects of potential corrugation and incidence angle, supported by numerical simulations.

Contribution

It provides new experimental data on atom reflection dynamics from a microfabricated magnetic lattice with detailed analysis of corrugation and incidence effects.

Findings

Reflection profile varies with potential corrugation

Reflection depends on angle of incidence

Numerical simulations support experimental results

Abstract

We report on an experimental study of the dynamics of the reflection of ultracold atoms from a periodic one-dimensional magnetic lattice potential. The magnetic lattice potential of period 10 \textmu m is generated by applying a uniform bias magnetic field to a microfabricated periodic structure on a silicon wafer coated with a multilayered TbGdFeCo/Cr magneto-optical film. The effective thickness of the magnetic film is about 960 nm. A detailed study of the profile of the reflected atoms as a function of externally induced periodic corrugation in the potential is described. The effect of angle of incidence is investigated in detail. The experimental observations are supported by numerical simulations.