Self-sustained oscillations in a Large Magneto-Optical Trap

We have observed self-sustained radial oscillations in a large magneto-optical trap (MOT), containing up to $10^{10}$ Rb$^{85}$ atoms. This instability is due to the competition between the confining force of the MOT and the repulsive interaction associated with multiple scattering of light inside the cold atomic cloud. A simple analytical model allows us to formulate a criterion for the instability threshold, in fair agreement with our observations. This criterion shows that large numbers of trapped atoms $N>10^9$ are required to observe this unstable behavior.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett. 4 pages, 3 figure

Light self-trapping in a large cloud of cold atoms

We show that, for a near-resonant propagating beam, a large cloud of cold 87Rb atoms acts as a saturable Kerr medium and produces self-trapping of light. By side fluorescence imaging we monitor the transverse size of the beam and, depending on the sign of the laser detuning with respect to the atomic transition, we observe self-focusing or -defocusing, with the waist remaining stationary for an appropriate choice of parameters. We analyze our observations by using numerical simulations based on a simple 2-level atom model.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Optics Letter

Approximated center-of-mass motion for systems of interacting particles with space- and velocity-dependent friction and anharmonic potential

We study the center-of-mass motion in systems of trapped interacting particles with space- and velocity-dependent friction and anharmonic traps. Our approach, based on a dynamical ansatz assuming a fixed density profile, allows us to obtain information at once for a wide range of binary interactions and interaction strengths, at linear and nonlinear levels. Our findings are first tested on different simple models by comparison with direct numerical simulations. Then, we apply the method to characterize the motion of the center of mass of a magneto-optical trap and its dependence on the number of trapped atoms. Our predictions are compared with experiments performed on a large Rb85 magneto-optical trap.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure

Multiple scattering of light in cold atomic clouds with a magnetic field

Starting from a microscopic theory for atomic scatterers, we describe the scattering of light by a single atom and study the coherent propagation of light in a cold atomic cloud in the presence of a magnetic field B in the mesoscopic regime. Non-pertubative expressions in B are given for the magneto-optical effects and optical anisotropy. We then consider the multiple scattering regime and address the fate of the coherent backscattering (CBS) effect. We show that, for atoms with nonzero spin in their ground state, the CBS interference contrast can be increased compared to its value when B=0, a result at variance with classical samples. We validate our theoretical results by a quantitative comparison with experimental data.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figure

Coherent backscattering of light by cold atoms: theory meets experiment

Coherent backscattering (CBS) of quasi-resonant light by cold atoms presents some specific features due to the internal structure of the atomic scatterers. We present the first quantitative comparison between the experimentally observed CBS cones and Monte-Carlo calculations which take into account the shape of the atomic cloud as well as the internal atomic structure.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Eur. Phys. Let

Magnetic Field Enhanced Coherence Length in Cold Atomic Gases

We study the effect of an external magnetic field on coherent backscattering of light from a cool rubidium vapor. We observe that the backscattering enhancement factor can be {\it increased} with $B$. This surprising behavior shows that the coherence length of the system can be increased by applying a magnetic field, in sharp contrast with ususal situations. This is mainly due to the lifting of the degeneracy between Zeeman sublevels. We find good agreement between our experimental data and a full Monte-Carlosimulation, taking into account the magneto-optical effects and the geometry of the atomic cloud

Fast optimal transition between two equilibrium states

We demonstrate a technique based on invariants of motion for a time-dependent Hamiltonian, allowing a fast transition to a final state identical in theory to that obtained through a perfectly adiabatic transformation. This method is experimentally applied to the fast decompression of an ultracold cloud of Rubidium 87 atoms held in a harmonic magnetic trap, in the presence of gravity. We are able to decompress the trap by a factor of 15 within 35 ms with a strong suppression of the sloshing and breathing modes induced by the large vertical displacement and curvature reduction of the trap. When compared to a standard linear decompression, we achieve a gain of a factor of 37 on the transition time.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, an error in Eq. (2) has been correcte

Optomechanical self-structuring in cold atomic gases

The rapidly developing field of optomechanics aims at the combined control of optical and mechanical (solid-state or atomic) modes. In particular, laser cooled atoms have been used to exploit optomechanical coupling for self-organization in a variety of schemes where the accessible length scales are constrained by a combination of pump modes and those associated to a second imposed axis, typically a cavity axis. Here, we consider a system with many spatial degrees of freedom around a single distinguished axis, in which two symmetries - rotations and translations in the plane orthogonal to the pump axis - are spontaneously broken. We observe the simultaneous spatial structuring of the density of a cold atomic cloud and an optical pump beam. The resulting patterns have hexagonal symmetry. The experiment demonstrates the manipulation of matter by opto-mechanical self-assembly with adjustable length scales and can be potentially extended to quantum degenerate gases.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figure

Shortcuts to adiabaticity for trapped ultracold gases

We study, experimentally and theoretically, the controlled transfer of harmonically trapped ultracold gases between different quantum states. In particular we experimentally demonstrate a fast decompression and displacement of both a non-interacting gas and an interacting Bose-Einstein condensate which are initially at equilibrium. The decompression parameters are engineered such that the final state is identical to that obtained after a perfectly adiabatic transformation despite the fact that the fast decompression is performed in the strongly non-adiabatic regime. During the transfer the atomic sample goes through strongly out-of-equilibrium states while the external confinement is modified until the system reaches the desired stationary state. The scheme is theoretically based on the invariants of motion and scaling equations techniques and can be generalized to decompression trajectories including an arbitrary deformation of the trap. It is also directly applicable to arbitrary initial non-equilibrium states.Comment: 36 pages, 14 figure