Interfacing of an optical nanofiber with tunably spaced atoms in an optical lattice
Authors
Hyok Sang Han
Ahreum Lee
Sarthak Subhankar
Fredrik K. Fatemi
S. L. Rolston
Abstract
We experimentally demonstrate efficient interfacing of a large number of atoms to an optical nanofiber using an optical lattice with tunable spacing ($0.88-1.5~μ$m) projected onto the nanofiber. The lattice beam and reflections from the nanofiber yield trap potentials that provide tight confinement in all motional degrees of freedom $\approx 220$ nm above the nanofiber surface, enabling efficient atom-photon coupling. We achieve trapping of $\approx1300$ atoms in periodic trap sites with a trap lifetime of $\approx15$ ms. We also observe the effect of varied lattice periods on the atomic motional frequencies. Our new scheme is adaptable to other nanophotonic cold-atom systems and provides a versatile and scalable platform for studying photon-mediated long-range collective interactions.
