Solid State and Optics Seminar

Wednesday, xxx, 2005

1:00 p.m.

107 Mason Lab

"Magnetic Microtraps for Cavity QED, BECs, and Atom Optics"

Prof. Benjamin Lev
California Institute of Technology,
Physics Dept

Abstract

Central to the advancement of our understanding of quantum physics and to the development of quantum computers is the quest to devise ever better ways to manipulate atoms and photons in our laboratories. The atom chip --a device reminiscent of a computer circuit board but designed for cold neutral atoms -- is an important new addition to the toolboxes of quantum physics and nanotechnology. We have fabricated and employed these devices to strongly couple single atoms to photons, to investigate Bose-Einstein condensates, and for creating an atom mirror from an ordinary computer hard drive. In this talk, I will present our work on combining photonic bandgap, microdisk, and fiber-gap cavities with magnetically trapped atoms, and discuss our progress towards creating double-well potentials and microscopic 1-D ring traps for Bose-Einstein condensates.

Host: Rob Schoelkopf