A state-insensitive, compensated nanofiber trap

TL;DR

This paper introduces a robust, state-insensitive nanofiber trap for Cesium atoms that cancels vector light shifts and uses magic wavelengths to enable resonant optical transitions, advancing quantum information applications.

Contribution

It presents a novel two-color evanescent wave trapping scheme that cancels vector light shifts and employs magic wavelengths for improved atom trapping and probing.

Findings

Effective cancellation of vector light shifts using backward evanescent wave

Use of magic wavelengths to eliminate differential scalar light shifts

Potential for long trap and coherence lifetimes in quantum applications

Abstract

Laser trapping and interfacing of laser-cooled atoms in an optical fiber network is an important capability for quantum information science. Following the pioneering work of Balykin et al. and Vetsch et al., we propose a robust method of trapping single Cesium atoms with a two-color state-insensitive evanescent wave around a dielectric nanofiber. Specifically, we show that vector light shifts (i.e., effective inhomogeneous Zeeman broadening of the ground states) induced by the inherent ellipticity of the forward-propagating evanescent wave can be effectively canceled by a backward-propagating evanescent wave. Furthermore, by operating the trapping lasers at the magic wavelengths, we remove the differential scalar light shift between ground and excited states, thereby allowing for resonant driving of the optical D2 transition. This scheme provides a promising approach to trap and probe neutral atoms with long trap and coherence lifetimes with realistic experimental parameters.