A Bose-Einstein condensate in an optical lattice with tunable spacing: transport and static properties

TL;DR

This paper explores the static and transport properties of a Bose-Einstein condensate in a tunable large-spacing optical lattice, revealing unique behaviors due to the altered length and energy scales compared to traditional lattices.

Contribution

It demonstrates the creation and investigation of a BEC in a large-spaced optical lattice with adjustable spacing, highlighting differences from conventional near-infrared lattices.

Findings

In-situ imaging of atoms in a 20 micrometer lattice.

Transport properties studied at 10 micrometer spacing.

Distinct interference patterns compared to standard lattices.

Abstract

In this Letter we report the investigation of transport and static properties of a Bose-Einstein condensate in a large-spaced optical lattice. The lattice spacing can be easily tuned starting from few micrometers by adjusting the relative angle of two partially reflective mirrors. We have performed in-situ imaging of the atoms trapped in the potential wells of a 20 micrometers-spaced lattice. For a lattice spacing of 10 micrometers we have studied the transport properties of the system and the interference pattern after expansion, evidencing quite different results with respect to the physics of BECs in ordinary near-infrared standing wave lattices, owing to the different length and energy scales.