10_transprt
Quantum Transport in Magneto-Optical Double-Potential Wells
I. H. Deutsch, P. M. Alsing, J. Grondalski, S. Ghose, D. L. Haycock, and Poul S. Jessen
We review the quantum transport of ultra-cold alkali atoms trapped in a one dimensional optical lattice of double-potential wells, engineered through a combination of ac-Stark shifts and Zeeman interactions. The system is modeled numerically through analysis of the band-structure and integration of the time dependent Schrdinger equation. By these means we simulate coherent control of the atomic wavepackets. We present results from ongoing experiments on laser cooled Cesium, including the demonstration of quantum state preparation and coherent tunneling. Entanglement between the internal and motional degrees of freedom allows us to access the tunneling dynamics by Stern-Gerlach measurements of the ground state magnetic populations. Schemes to extend this into a full reconstruction of the density matrix for the ground state angular momentum are presented. We further consider the classical dynamics of our system, which displays deterministic chaos. This has important implications for the distinction between classical and quantum mechanical transport.