Guided transport of ultracold gases of rubidium up to a room-temperature dielectric surface

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a method for guiding ultracold rubidium gases along an optical waveguide to a room-temperature surface, enabling precise positioning for surface interaction studies with minimal heating or loss.

Contribution

A simple hybrid trap technique for transporting ultracold gases to surfaces with controlled distance and negligible heating, facilitating future atom-surface interaction research.

Findings

Successful transport of ultracold rubidium gases up to a dielectric surface.

Precise control of atom-surface distance with minimal heating or atom loss.

Potential for advanced studies of atom-surface interactions.

Abstract

We report on the guided transport of an atomic sample along an optical waveguide up to a room-temperature dielectric surface. The technique exploits a simple hybrid trap consisting of a single beam dipole trap positioned ~125 {\mu}m below the field zero of a magnetic quadrupole potential. Transportation is realised by applying a moderate bias field (<12 G) to displace the magnetic field zero along the axis of the dipole trap. We use the technique to demonstrate that atomic gases may be precisely positioned at controlled distances from the surface with negligible heating or loss. This work forms an excellent basis for future studies of atom-surface interactions using ultracold atomic gases.