Search

Individual laser cooled atoms are delivered on demand from a single atom magneto-optic trap to a high-finesse optical cavity using an atom conveyor. Strong coupling of the atom with the cavity field allows simultaneous cooling and detection of individual atoms for time scales exceeding 15 s. The single atom scatter rate is studied as a function of probe-cavity detuning and probe Rabi frequency, and the experimental results are in good agreement with theoretical predictions. We demonstrate the ability to manipulate the position of a single atom relative to the cavity mode with excellent control and reproducibility., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett

We measure spin mixing of $F=1$ and $F=2$ spinor condensates of $^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ atoms confined in an optical trap. We determine the spin mixing time to be typically less than 600 ms and observe spin population oscillations. The equilibrium spin configuration in the $F=1$ manifold is measured for different magnetic fields and found to show ferromagnetic behavior for low field gradients. An $F=2$ condensate is created by microwave excitation from the $F=1$ manifold, and this spin-2 condensate is observed to decay exponentially with time constant 250 ms. Despite the short lifetime in the $F=2$ manifold, spin mixing of the condensate is observed within 50 ms.