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Quantum technologies

Dieter Meschede's research group
Home Group members Gautam Ramola
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Group members
M. Sc. Gautam Ramola
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Last position
in our group:
Master student
Field of research
in our group:
Few-atom quantum systems
 

Publications(up to 2022)

  • F. G. Winkelmann, C. A. Weidner, G. Ramola, W. Alt, D. Meschede and A. Alberti
    Direct measurement of the Wigner function of atoms in an optical trap, Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 55, 194004 (2022)arXivBibTeXPDF
    ABSTRACT »

    We present a scheme to directly probe the Wigner function of the motional state of a neutral atom confined in an optical trap. The proposed scheme relies on the well-established fact that the Wigner function at a given point (x,p) in phase space is proportional to the expectation value of the parity operator relative to that point. In this work, we show that the expectation value of the parity operator can be directly measured using two auxiliary internal states of the atom: parity-even and parity-odd motional states are mapped to the two internal states of the atom through a Ramsey interferometry scheme. The Wigner function can thus be measured point-by-point in phase space with a single, direct measurement of the internal state population. Numerical simulations show that the scheme is robust in that it applies not only to deep, harmonic potentials but also to shallower, anharmonic traps.

  • G. Ramola, R. Winkelmann, K. Chandrashekara, W. Alt, X. Peng, D. Meschede and A. Alberti
    Ramsey imaging of optical traps, Phys. Rev. Appl. 16, 024041 (2021)arXivBibTeXPDF
    ABSTRACT »

    The mapping of the potential landscape with high spatial resolution is crucial for quantum technologies based on ultracold atoms. However, the imaging of optical dipole traps is challenging because purely optical methods, commonly used to profile laser beams in free space, are not applicable in a vacuum. In this work, we demonstrate precise in situ imaging of optical dipole traps by probing a hyperfine transition with Ramsey interferometry. Thereby, we obtain an absolute map of the potential landscape with micrometer resolution and shot-noise-limited spectral precision. The idea of the technique is to control the polarization ellipticity of the trap laser beam to induce a differential light shift proportional to the trap potential. By studying the response to polarization ellipticity, we uncover a small but significant nonlinearity in addition to a dominant linear behavior, which is explained by the geometric distribution of the atomic ensemble. Our technique for imaging of optical traps can find wide application in quantum technologies based on ultracold atoms, as it applies to multiple atomic species and is not limited to a particular wavelength or trap geometry.

  • G. Ramola
    Ramsey Imaging of Optical Dipole Traps and its applications in building a 3D optical lattice, (2021), PhD thesisBibTeXPDF
    ABSTRACT »
    In this work, I present the experimental realization of two-dimensional state-dependent transport of cesium atoms trapped in a three-dimensional optical lattice. Leveraging the ability to state-dependently transport atoms, I demonstrate microwave photon mediated sideband cooling to the motional ground state along two dimensions. Once cooled down to the vibrational ground state, we use these atoms as sensitive probes to detect both magnetic field gradients and optical field inhomogeneities, by means of Ramsey interferometry. This enables us to perform Ramsey imaging of optical dipole traps, an essential technique which helps in the precise alignment of optical beams inside the vacuum cell.
    In the first part of the thesis, I introduce the main experimental apparatus of the Discrete Quantum Simulator (DQSIM) machine, as our experiment is known, with emphasis on the technical improvements over the past few years, such as increasing the atom filling in our optical lattice from double digits to a few thousand. Using these atoms as magnetic probes, I confirm the expected magnetic shielding factor of about 2000 from the mu-metal shielding enclosing the vacuum cell. I finally discuss the control we have over the internal state of the atoms, with a measured Rabi frequency of Ω≈2π × 200 kHz.
    In chapter 3, I introduce the concept of state-dependent transport, which forms the basis of most experiments planned with the DQSIM machine. I go on to discuss the polarization synthesizer, the technical backbone of the state-dependent optical lattices. The polarization synthesizer allows us to create any arbitrary polarization state of light, by independently controlling the phase and amplitude of each circular polarization component of a linearly polarized optical lattice beam. With two such polarization synthesizers implemented in the experiment, I report on the experimental realization of state-dependent transport in two dimensions. This is followed by the demonstration of microwave photon mediated ground state cooling in two dimensions, where we achieve a ground state population of about 95% along each dimension.
    In the following chapter, I introduce the Ramsey spectroscopy technique, a mainstay of high precision experiments. Using Ramsey spectroscopy, I investigate some sources of dephasing in our experiment, from inhomogeneous magnetic fields to differential light shifts. Based on these Ramsey measurements, I show that we can achieve coherence times greater than a millisecond if we restrict the region of interest in our optical lattice. Exploiting the high precision Ramsey interferometry further, in chapter 5, I introduce a versatile technique for the precise in-vacuo reconstruction of optical potentials. This Ramsey imaging technique is used to image the four laser beams that form our three-dimensional lattice, helping us align them with micrometer precision. In the final chapter, I summarize the work done in this thesis and discuss some future experiments that are planned for the DQSIM machine, from plane selection to two-dimensional quantum walks.
  • C. Robens, S. Brakhane, W. Alt, F. Kleißler, D. Meschede, G. Moon, G. Ramola and A. Alberti
    High numerical aperture (NA = 0.92) objective lens for imaging and addressing of cold atoms, Opt. Lett. 42, 1043 (2017)arXivBibTeXPDF
    ABSTRACT »

    We have designed, built, and characterized a high- resolution objective lens that is compatible with an ultra-high vacuum environment. The lens system ex- ploits the principle of the Weierstrass-sphere solid immersion lens to reach a numerical aperture (NA) of 0.92. Tailored to the requirements of optical lattice experiments, the objective lens features a relatively long working distance of 150 μm. Our two-lens design is remarkably insensitive to mechanical tolerances in spite of the large NA. Additionally, we demonstrate the application of a tapered optical fiber tip, as used in scanning near-field optical microscopy, to measure the point spread function of a high NA optical system. From the point spread function, we infer the wavefront aberration for the entire field of view of about 75 μm. Pushing the NA of an optical system to its ultimate limit enables novel applications in quantum technolo- gies such as quantum control of atoms in optical mi- crotraps with an unprecedented spatial resolution and photon collection efficiency.

  • G. Ramola
    A versatile digital frequency synthesizer for state-dependent transport of trapped neutral atoms, (2015), Master thesisBibTeXPDF
    ABSTRACT »

    This thesis deals with the design and construction of a versatile digital frequency synthesizer for implementation in the state-dependent transport of Cesium atoms. The versatile digital frequency synthesizer consists of a field programmable gate array interfaced with a low noise direct digital synthesizer that will be used for amplitude, phase and frequency modulation. The versatile digital frequency synthesizer provides better flexibility, for generating arbitrary waveforms, and lower phase noise than the previous setup. The measured reduction in phase noise of around 20dB corresponds to an increase in the lifetime of atoms by two orders of magnitude. This improved phase noise specification with the ability to generate arbitrary waveforms opens up possibilities for transporting atoms over macroscopic distances and eventually realizing an atom interferometer with a large space-time area.


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