Designing a hybrid chip trap for studying low-temperature ion-atom dynamics
I. Rouse1, R. Schmied2, P. Treutlein2, and S. Willitsch1
1: Department of Chemistry, University of Basel, Switzerland
2: Department of Physics, University of Basel, Switzerland
Microscopic chip traps trapping either ions or neutral atoms have long since proven themselves as invaluable tools for the precise study of quantum systems such as single ion qubits and spin-squeezed BECs. [1,2] Macroscopic hybrid traps which combine traditional ion traps with a MOT for the trapping of neutral atoms have also been demonstrated, enabling the investigation of the interaction of ions and atoms at low temperature and so allowing the nature of reactive collisions to be probed to a high degree of accuracy. [3,4]
However, as of yet no hybrid system has taken advantage of the greater flexiblity of the trapping potentials offered by these chip traps, which allow for rapid formation of BECs and precise control over the location of trapped ions. A trap combining these features has a wide range of applications such as the study of charged impurities in BECs, investigating polarons, and for quantum computing. [5,6]
In this poster we present the design for a hybrid chip trap currently being manufactured along with the results of simulations performed in order to characterise the ability of the chip to trap and shuttle both atoms and ions.
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[2] C. F. Ockeloen, R. Schmied, M. F. Riedel and P. Treutlein, Phys. Rev. Lett, 2013, 111
[3] F. H. J. Hall and S. Willitsch, Phys. Rev. Lett, 2012, 109, 233202
[4] F. Hall et. al. MP, 2013, 111
[5] R. Cote, V. Kharchenko and M. D. Lukin, Phys. Rev. Lett., 2002, 89
[6] A. Härter and J. H. Denschlag, Contemp. Phys., 2014, 55