Bloch oscillations of atoms in an optical multiphoton potential

Abstract

We report on experiments studying transport properties of an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate in an optical lattice of spatial period $\lambda /2n$, where $n$ is an integer, realized with the dispersion of multiphoton Raman transitions. We observe Bloch oscillations, as a clear effect of quantum transport, in the sub-wavelength scale periodicity lattice. The unusually strong localisation of atoms is evident from the measured effective mass. Future prospects of the novel lattice structures are expected in the search for new quantum phases in tailored lattice structures up to quantum computing in optical nanopotentials.

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