Degenerate quantum gases of transition metal atoms
Abstract
This effort aims to extend the application of laser and evaporative cooling to a new family of elements. The specifi c aim of this project is to create an ultracold, quantum degenerate gas of titanium atoms. A scheme is proposed wherein titanium atoms are excited to a metastable state, the a5F5 atomic state. Two closed optical transitions are identified, at wavelengths near 498 and 1040 nm, that permit the application of standard laser-cooling methods to metastable titanium atoms. A four-phase research effort is outlined, with the goals of (1) assembling and testing a titanium atomic beam apparatus, and applying optical pumping to prepare atoms in the a5F5 state, (2) Zeeman slowing and magneto-optical trapping of titanium atoms in the metastable state, (3) magnetic or optical trapping of atoms in the metastable state or in one of the fine-structure states of the a3F electronic ground level, and (4) preparation of quantum degenerate gases in the fine-structure ground state. Success in this project will open the door to new scientifi c directions, such as the study of ultracold gases in mixtures of different angular-momentum states and subject to polarization-dependent off-resonant light fields, the study of long-lived spin-orbit-coupled Fermi gases and their possible topological low-energy phases, new variations on atom interferometry enabled by the polarization-dependent optical interactions and the plethora of metastable states in the titanium spectrum, and the study of stable spin-2 spinor Bose-Einstein condensates. The success of this effort will also demonstrate a path toward cooling several other transition-metal atomic gases. This abstract is intended for public release.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jul 09, 2020
- Source ID
- W911NF2010266
Entities
People
- Dan Stamper-Kurn
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- United States Army
- University of California, Berkeley