Abstract
We present our first results on our implementation of a laser based accelerator for ultracold atoms. Atoms cooled to a temperature of 420 nK are confined and accelerated by means of laser tweezer beams, and the atomic scattering is directly observed in laser absorption imaging. The optical collider has been characterized using Rb-87 atoms in the vertical bar F = 2; m(F) = 2 > state, but the scheme is not restricted to atoms in any particular magnetic substates and can readily be extended to other atomic species as well. (C) 2012 Optical Society of America