Nondestructive imaging of an ultracold lattice gas

TL;DR

This paper presents a nondestructive imaging method for ultracold lattice gases using atomic fluorescence combined with Raman sideband cooling, enabling repeated measurements without heating or atom loss.

Contribution

The authors develop a novel nondestructive imaging technique for ultracold atoms in optical lattices that preserves the system for further manipulation and study.

Findings

Effective imaging across various lattice depths.

Controlled cycling between dark and fluorescing states.

Elimination of heating and atom loss during imaging.

Abstract

We demonstrate the nondestructive imaging of a lattice gas of ultracold bosons. Atomic fluorescence is induced in the simultaneous presence of degenerate Raman sideband cooling. The combined influence of these processes controllably cycles an atom between a dark state and a fluorescing state while eliminating heating and loss. Through spatially resolved sideband spectroscopy following the imaging sequence, we demonstrate the efficacy of this imaging technique in various regimes of lattice depth and fluorescence acquisition rate. Our work provides an important extension of quantum gas imaging to the nondestructive detection, control and manipulation of atoms in optical lattices. In addition, our technique can also be extended to atomic species that are less amenable to molasses-based lattice imaging.