Towards a Twisted Atom Laser: Cold Atoms Released from Helical Optical Tube Potentials

TL;DR

This paper investigates the quantum behavior of cold atoms confined in a helical optical tube, demonstrating how the twisted confinement geometry influences atom wavepackets and enabling potential applications in quantum technologies.

Contribution

It introduces a novel helicoidal optical potential for cold atoms and analyzes its effects on quantum states and free evolution, advancing the development of twisted atom lasers.

Findings

Confined atoms form spatially coherent, structured wavepackets.

The geometry supports the creation of twisted Bose-Einstein condensates.

Potential applications in quantum technologies like atom beam shaping.

Abstract

We study the quantum dynamics of cold atoms initially confined in a Helical Optical Tube (HOT) and subsequently released into free space. This helicoidal potential, engineered via structured light fields with orbital angular momentum, imposes a twisted geometry on the atomic ensemble during confinement. We examine how this geometry shapes the initial quantum state particularly its spatial localization and phase structure and how these features influence the subsequent free evolution. Our analysis reveals that the overall confinement geometry supports the formation of spatially coherent, structured wavepackets, paving the way for the realization of twisted Bose Einstein condensates and directed atom lasers. The results are of particular interest for applications in quantum technologies, such as coherent atom beam shaping, matter-wave interferometry, and guided transport of quantum matter.