Direct Measurements of Collisional Dynamics in Ultracold Atom Triads
Reynolds, Luke

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Reynolds, L. (2019). Direct Measurements of Collisional Dynamics in Ultracold Atom Triads (Thesis, Master of Science). University of Otago. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10523/9342
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http://hdl.handle.net/10523/9342
Abstract:
In this thesis, I present experimental methodology and results for direct measurements of ultracold few-atom collision dynamics, which allows quantum processes to be observed at the single event level. Three individual 85 Rb atoms are prepared in a specific quantum state and near-deterministically loaded into separate far-off resonance optical tweezers. The three trapping potentials are then merged, allowing the atoms to interact. By controlling the parameters of this interaction – duration and density of the atom triad – time-dependent atom loss from the trap due to two- and three-body inelastic collisions is observed. The loss rate from two-body collisions, K 2, is found to show a dependence on the trap beam intensity, which suggests that off-resonant photoassociative processes play a significant role in the system. In addition, the three-body recombination event rate constant, K 3 , is extracted from these loss measurements. The determination of K 3 in this manner marks a novel experimental measurement, as previous investigations have deduced the rate constant only by observing atom loss from a many-body sample. The measured few-body value for K3 shows consistency with its prediction from established theory illuminating a promising path for future experiments to take in the field of few-atom studies.
Date:
2019
Advisor:
Andersen, Mikkel
Degree Name:
Master of Science
Degree Discipline:
Physics
Publisher:
University of Otago
Keywords:
cold atoms; three atom; three body; recombination; three body recombination; ultracold; Rb; 85; Rb85; collisional dynamics; collisional; triad
Research Type:
Thesis
Languages:
English
Collections
- Physics [120]
- Thesis - Masters [3375]