Non-Gaussian Velocity Distributions in Optical Lattices

Abstract

We present a detailed experimental study of the velocity distribution of atoms cooled in an optical lattice. Our results are supported by full-quantum numerical simulations. Even though the Sisyphus effect, the responsible cooling mechanism, has been used extensively in many cold atom experiments, no detailed study of the velocity distribution has been reported previously. For the experimental as well as for the numerical investigation, it turns out that a Gaussian function is not the one that best reproduce the data for all parameters. We also fit the data to alternative functions, such as Lorentzians, Tsallis functions and double Gaussians. In particular, a double Gaussian provides a more precise fitting to our results.

Final published version with 12 pages and 12 figures

References in corpus (4)

• Anomalous diffusion and Tsallis statistics in an optical lattice
• The Edge of Quantum Chaos
• Temperature and spatial diffusion of atoms cooled in a 3D lin$\perp$lin bright optical lattice
• Damping rates of the atomic velocity in Sisyphus cooling

Cited by in corpus (20)

• Analysis of self-organized criticality in Ehrenfest's dog-flea model
• Anomalous statistics of laser-cooled atoms in dissipative optical lattices
• High-order optical nonlinearity at low light levels
• Diffusing-Wave Spectroscopy of Cold Atoms in Ballistic Motion
• Observing Power-Law Dynamics of Position-Velocity Correlation in Anomalous Diffusion
• Infinite density for cold atoms in shallow optical lattices
• Sisyphus Cooling of Lithium
• Observation of a non-equilibrium steady state of cold atoms in a moving optical lattice
• Transverse optical and atomic pattern formation
• Synchronization in non dissipative optical lattices
• Time dependence of laser cooling in optical lattices
• Bimodal momentum distribution of laser-cooled atoms in optical lattices
• Simulations of Sisyphus cooling including multiple excited states
• How to characterize the dynamics of cold atoms in non dissipative optical lattices?
• Heavy-tailed targets and (ab)normal asymptotics in diffusive motion
• Deviations from generalized Equipartition in Confined, Laser Cooled Atoms
• Grand canonical ensemble in generalized thermostatistics
• Fluctuation-induced drift in a gravitationally tilted optical lattice
• Nonequilibrium steady state in a large magneto-optical trap
• Stability of families of probability distributions under reduction of the number of degrees of freedom