Tue November 18, 2014 4:00 pm
Two-atom quantum interference in tunnel-coupled optical tweezers
Location:Harvard Jefferson-250
Dr. Cindy Regal,
NIST - University of Colorado - Boulder
Ten Minute Talk:"Towards a Quantum Gas Microscope for Ultracold Fermions" by
Lawrence Cheuk
Motional control of neutral atoms has a rich history and increasingly interest has turned to single-atom control. I will present work in which we begin by laser cooling single bosonic atoms to near their vibrational ground state in optical tweezer traps. Our recent work has explored the interference of two of these independently-prepared atoms. We observe a massive-particle analog of the Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) effect when we arrange for atom tunneling to play the role of a balanced photon beamsplitter. The HOM signature is used to probe the effect of atomic indistinguishability on the two-boson dynamics for various initial conditions. I will discuss the implication of these experiments for the assembly and control of a variety of quantum systems.