Overview

• undertakes experimental and theoretical research on quantum processes in atomic (both neutral and ionized), molecular, and nanoscale systems; and it explores atomic interactions in plasmas and with surfaces;

• advances the physics of laser cooling and electromagnetic trapping and the optical manipulation of neutral atoms using Bose condensates and optical lattices and applies these techniques to develop the field of quantum information processing;

• provides measurements, standards, and atomic reference data for specific generic needs in various industrial and scientific applications such as the processing of materials by plasmas and ion beams, commercial and residential lighting, properties of optical materials, x-ray analysis of thin films, and fusion plasma diagnostics; and

• contributes to advances in fundamental standards by atomic fountain clock research, by studies of the Si-lattice for the unit of mass and by refining the electromagnetic scale through the linking of standards in the visible to others in the x-ray and gamma-ray regions.

Device for Trapping Atoms for Quantum Processing Applications: The figure shows the evanescent field of a linear waveguide and ring resonator that can be used for trapping and guiding atoms with possible applications to quantum information. The device consists of a low index glass substrate that has a linear waveguide and a 10 µm diameter ring resonator built out of a higher index glass material on top of the substrate. The top picture shows the buildup of the evanescent field above the surface of the waveguide structure, showing the strong enhancement of the field in the ring resonator. The bottom schematic shows atoms trapped above the surface of the waveguide and ring resonator in localized potentials formed by the standing wave light patterns in the waveguide structures. The atoms can be moved by changing the relative phase of the counter-propagating light beams.