All-Optical Matter-Wave Lens using Time-Averaged Potentials

TL;DR

This paper introduces an all-optical matter-wave lens using time-averaged potentials to create cold matter-waves efficiently, enhancing matter-wave sensor performance without extensive evaporative cooling.

Contribution

The work presents a novel method for shaping matter-waves with optical potentials, reducing cooling time and increasing atom number for improved sensor accuracy.

Findings

Demonstrated matter-wave lens with time-averaged optical potentials

Achieved trade-off between atom number and residual kinetic energy

Estimated performance gains in matter-wave sensors

Abstract

The stability of matter-wave sensors benefits from interrogating large-particle-number atomic ensembles at high cycle rates. The use of quantum-degenerate gases with their low effective temperatures allows constraining systematic errors towards highest accuracy, but their production by evaporative cooling is costly with regard to both atom number and cycle rate. In this work, we report on the creation of cold matter-waves using a crossed optical dipole trap and shaping it by means of an all-optical matter-wave lens. We demonstrate the trade off between residual kinetic energy and atom number by short-cutting evaporative cooling and estimate the corresponding performance gain in matter-wave sensors. Our method is implemented using time-averaged optical potentials and hence easily applicable in optical dipole trapping setups.