Shaking-induced dynamics of cold atoms in magnetic traps

TL;DR

This paper investigates how transverse oscillations in magnetic traps induce resonant heating in cold rubidium atoms, combining experimental measurements with a simple model to understand the underlying dynamics and loss mechanisms.

Contribution

It introduces a model that accounts for collisions and anharmonicity to interpret resonance phenomena in cold atom traps, linking experimental results with theoretical insights.

Findings

Resonance in temperature depends on trap frequency and excitation parameters.

The model accurately predicts the resonance conditions and heating effects.

Insights into atom loss mechanisms and trap dynamics are provided.

Abstract

We describe an experiment in which cold rubidium atoms, confined in an elongated magnetic trap, are excited by transverse oscillation of the trap centre. The temperature after excitation exhibits resonance as a function of the driving frequency. We measure these resonances at several different trap frequencies. In order to interpret the experiments, we develop a simple model that incorporates both collisions between atoms and the anharmonicity of the real three-dimensional trapping potential. As well as providing a precise connection between the transverse harmonic oscillation frequency and the temperature resonance frequency, this model gives insight into the heating and loss mechanisms, and into the dynamics of driven clouds of cold trapped atoms.