ISBN 978-3-8439-1300-3

978-3-8439-1300-3, Reihe Physik

Sören Erik Dörscher
Creation of ytterbium quantum gases with a compact 2D-/3D-MOT setup

184 Seiten, Dissertation Universität Hamburg (2013), Hardcover, D4

Zusammenfassung / Abstract

Over the past decade, ultracold gases of alkaline earth-like atoms have become one of the most active fields of research within the atomic physics community. Owing to their unique electronic structure these elements have been instrumental in the development of optical lattice clocks, a novel type of frequency standards in the optical domain. Their quantum gases are promising candidates for a wide range of experiments, from novel quantum phases to quantum computation. In particular, they are expected to allow an experimental investigation of a number of long-standing problems in solid-state physics, such as the Kondo lattice model or highly symmetric spin Hamiltonians.

In the framework of this dissertation, an experimental setup for studies of quantum gases of ytterbium and rubidium atoms in optical lattices has been devised and realised. This work aims at employing techniques developed for optical lattice clocks for the first time to study interactions and correlations in quantum gases using ultra-precise spectroscopy in the optical domain.

This dissertation reports on the first realisation of a two-dimensional magneto-optical trap for ytterbium. In a novel loading scheme, ytterbium atoms are successfully captured from an atomic beam within a compact glass cell and laser cooled. This provides an efficient source of cold atoms that are captured by another magneto-optical trap on the narrow intercombination transition of ytterbium in a separate glass cell. First experimental results demonstrate the creation of both fermionic and bosonic ytterbium quantum gases in this setup. These quantum gases provide a formidable starting point for future experiments that are going to investigate ultracold Fermi and Bose gases in optical lattices via spectroscopy on the ultra-narrow clock transition.