Cavity-aided magnetic-resonance microscopy of atoms in optical lattices

Abstract

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a powerful technique for investigating the microscopic properties and dynamics of physical systems. In this work we demonstrate state-sensitive MRI of ultracold atoms in an optical lattice. Single-shot spatial resolution is 120 nm, well below the lattice spacing, and number sensitivity is +/-2.4 for 150 atoms on a single site, well below Poissonian atom-number fluctuations. We achieve this by combining high-spatial-resolution control over the atomic spin using an atom chip, together with nearly quantum-limited spin measurement, obtained by dispersively coupling the atoms to light in a high-finesse optical cavity. The MRI is minimally disruptive of the atoms' internal state, preserving the magnetisation of the gas for subsequent experiments. Using this technique, we observe the nonequilibrium transport dynamics of the atoms among individual lattice sites. We see the atom cloud initially expand ballistically, followed by the onset of interaction-inhibited transport.

7 pages, 4 figures, 10 supplemental pages and 4 supplemental figures; Nature Physics (2010)

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Cited by in corpus (15)

• Dynamics of Nonequilibrium Dicke Models
• Fermionic Superradiance in a Transversely Pumped Optical Cavity
• Interaction enhanced imaging of individual atoms embedded in dense atomic gases
• Collective state measurement of mesoscopic ensembles with single-atom resolution
• Robust site-resolved quantum gates in an optical lattice via inhomogeneous control
• Ultrasensitive Atomic Spin Measurements with a Nonlinear Interferometer
• Reservoir-engineered spin squeezing: macroscopic even-odd effects and hybrid-systems implementations
• Synthetic spin-orbit interactions and magnetic fields in ring-cavity QED
• Quantum optomechanics of a Bose-Einstein Antiferromagnet
• Addressing Two-Level Systems Variably Coupled to an Oscillating Field
• Superradiant Raman Laser Magnetometer
• Single- and two-qubit quantum gates using superimposed optical lattice potentials
• Homodyne detection of matter-wave fields (shortened)
• A continuously tunable modulation scheme for precision control of optical cavities with variable detuning
• Tracking evaporative cooling of a mesoscopic atomic quantum gas in real time