28_lattice
Microwave Control of Atomic Motion in Optical Lattices
Leonid Forster, Michal Karski, Jai-Min Choi, Andreas Steffen, Wolfgang Alt, Dieter Meschede, Artur Widera, Enrique Montano, Jae Hoon Lee, Worawarong Rakreungdet, Poul S. Jessen
We control the quantum mechanical motion of neutral atoms in an optical lattice by driving microwave transitions between spin states whose trapping potentials are spatially offset. Control of this offset with nanometer precision allows for adjustment of the coupling strength between different motional states, analogous to an adjustable effective Lamb-Dicke factor. This is used both for efficient one-dimensional sideband cooling of individual atoms to a vibrational ground state population of 97 percent, and to drive coherent Rabi oscillation between arbitrary pairs of vibrational states. We further show that microwaves can drive well resolved transitions between motional states in maximally offset, shallow lattices, and thus in principle allow for coherent control of long range quantum transport.