Detecting atoms trapped in an optical lattice using a tapered optical nanofiber

Abstract

Optical detection of structures with dimensions smaller than an optical wavelength requires devices that work on scales beyond the diffraction limit. Here we present the possibility of using a tapered optical nanofiber as a detector to resolve individual atoms trapped in an optical lattice in the Mott Insulator phase. We show that the small size of the fiber combined with an enhanced photon collection rate can allow for the attainment of large and reliable measurement signals.

10 pages, 8 figures

References in corpus (5)

• Quantum phase transition from a superfluid to a Mott insulator in a gas of ultracold atoms
• Highly efficient coupling of photons from nanoemitters into single-mode optical fibers
• Nearest-Neighbor Detection of Atoms in a 1D Optical Lattice by Fluorescence Imaging
• Single Atoms on an Optical Nanofiber
• Digital atom interferometer with single particle control on a discretized spacetime geometry