Trapping of ultra-cold atoms with the magnetic field of vortices in a thin film superconducting micro-structure

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a novel method for trapping ultra-cold atoms using magnetic fields generated by vortices in a high-temperature superconducting micro-structure, enabling precise control and potential applications in quantum technologies.

Contribution

First demonstration of trapping ultra-cold atoms with magnetic flux quanta in a superconducting micro-structure, combining experimental results with numerical simulations.

Findings

Successful trapping of ultra-cold atoms using vortex magnetic fields

Control over trap characteristics such as atom positioning and vortex density

Agreement between experimental results and numerical simulations

Abstract

We store and control ultra-cold atoms in a new type of trap using magnetic fields of vortices in a high temperature superconducting micro-structure. This is the first time ultra-cold atoms have been trapped in the field of magnetic flux quanta. We generate the attractive trapping potential for the atoms by combining the magnetic field of a superconductor in the remanent state with external homogeneous magnetic fields. We show the control of crucial atom trap characteristics such as an efficient intrinsic loading mechanism, spatial positioning of the trapped atoms and the vortex density in the superconductor. The measured trap characteristics are in good agreement with our numerical simulations.