This thesis provides a summary of the laser system constructed in the Quantum Degenerate Gases Laboratory for laser cooling and trapping of 85/87Rband 6Li as well as of experiments that have been pursued in our lab to date. The first chapter provides an overview of the experimental focus of the QDG lab. The second and third chapters provide the fundamental theory behind laser cooling and trapping. The fourth chapter provides details of the laser system. The fifth chapter describes an experiment performed on the subject of dual-injection, performed in collaboration with Dr. James Booth of the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) involving the dual-injection of a single slave amplifier. The last chapter describes the progress made on the experimental setup needed for the study of Feshbach resonances between 85/87Rb and 6Li and the photoassociative formation of molecules.

This thesis provides a summary of the laser system constructed in the Quantum Degenerate Gases Laboratory for laser cooling and trapping of 85/87Rband 6Li as well as of experiments that have been pursued in our lab to date. The first chapter provides an overview of the experimental focus of the QDG lab. The second and third chapters provide the fundamental theory behind laser cooling and trapping. The fourth chapter provides details of the laser system. The fifth chapter describes an experiment performed on the subject of dual-injection, performed in collaboration with Dr. James Booth of the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) involving the dual-injection of a single slave amplifier. The last chapter describes the progress made on the experimental setup needed for the study of Feshbach resonances between 85/87Rb and 6Li and the photoassociative formation of molecules.

This thesis provides a summary of the laser system constructed in the Quantum Degenerate Gases Laboratory for laser cooling and trapping of 85/87Rband 6Li as well as of experiments that have been pursued in our lab to date. The first chapter provides an overview of the experimental focus of the QDG lab. The second and third chapters provide the fundamental theory behind laser cooling and trapping. The fourth chapter provides details of the laser system. The fifth chapter describes an experiment performed on the subject of dual-injection, performed in collaboration with Dr. James Booth of the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) involving the dual-injection of a single slave amplifier. The last chapter describes the progress made on the experimental setup needed for the study of Feshbach resonances between 85/87Rb and 6Li and the photoassociative formation of molecules. / Science, Faculty of / Physics and Astronomy, Department of / Graduate

Este trabalho descreve os métodos usados para obtenção de uma amostra ultra-fria de átomos de estrôncio. Os métodos usados para preparar a amostra são: um desacelerador Zeeman e duas armadilhas magneto-ópticas (MOT). O primeiro MOT operando na transição 1S0−1 P1 (azul) e o segundo na transição 1S0−3P1 (vermelha). Com relação ao primeiro estágio, se faz necessário o uso de um laser de comprimento de onda de 497nm, que através da transição 3P2−3D2 recuperam os átomos que sofrem transição para os chamados estados escuros. O último estágio é uma armadilha de dipolo para átomos de estrôncio usando apenas um feixe laser com comprimento de onda de 1064nm. O carregamento dessa armadilha é feito transferindo uma amostra atômica já pré-resfriadas. Explicamos de que maneira é feita a análise e aquisição dos resultados apresentados. Ressaltamos ainda a importância dos resultados obtidos para o projeto atual e para projetos futuros. / The present work describes the methods used to obtain a sample of ultra cold atoms of strontium. The methods necessary for obtaining the sample are: a Zeeman decelerator and a two step magneto-optical trap (MOTs). The first MOT works on the blue transition 1S0−1P1 while the second is operating on the red transition 1S0−3P1 transition. In the first stage a laser operating at 497nm is used to drive the 3P2−3D2 transition in order to prevent atoms accumulating in the 3P1 dark state. The last stage, after cooling, consists in a dipole trap for strontium atoms using only one laser beam with 1064nm wavelength. This trap is loaded by the transfer of a pre cooled atomic sample. We explain how the analysis and acquisition of the presented data are made. We also emphasize the importance of the obtained results for the current project as well as for future ones.

This thesis includes both experimental and theoretical investigations of fluctuation-induced transport phenomena, presented in a series of nine papers, by studies of the dynamics of cold atoms in dissipative optical lattices. With standard laser cooling techniques about 108 cesium atoms are accumulated, cooled to a few μK, and transferred into a dissipative optical lattice. An optical lattice is a periodic light-shift potential, and in dissipative optical lattice the light field is sufficiently close to resonance for incoherent light scattering to be of importance. This provides the system with a diffusive force, but also with a friction through laser cooling mechanisms. In the dissipative optical lattices the friction and the diffusive force will eventually reach a steady state. At steady state, the thermal energy is low enough, compared to the potential depth, for the atoms to be localized close to the potential minima, but high enough for the atoms to occasionally make inter-well flights. This leads to a Brownian motion of the atoms in the optical lattices. In the normal case these random walks average to zero, leading to a symmetric, isotropic diffusion of the atoms. If the optical lattices are tilted, the symmetry is broken and the diffusion will be biased. This leads to a fluctuation-induced drift of the atoms. In this thesis an investigation of such drifts, for an optical lattice tilted by the gravitational force, is presented. We show that even though the tilt over a potential period is small compared to the potential depth, it clearly affect the dynamics of the atoms, and despite the complex details of the system it can, to a good approximation, be described by the Langevin equation formalism for a particle in a periodic potential. The linear drifts give evidence of stop-and-go dynamics where the atoms escape the potential wells and travel over one or more wells before being recaptured. Brownian motors open the possibility of creating fluctuation-induced drifts in the absence of bias forces, if two requirements are fulfilled: the symmetry has to be broken and the system has to be brought out of thermal equilibrium. By utilizing two distinguishable optical lattices, with a relative spatial phase and unequal transfer rates between them, these requirements can be fulfilled. In this thesis, such a Brownian motor is realized, and drifts in arbitrary directions in 3D are demonstrated. We also demonstrate a real-time steering of the transport as well as drifts along pre-designed paths. Moreover, we present measurements and discussions of performance characteristics of the motor, and we show that the required asymmetry can be obtained in multiple ways.

Este trabalho descreve os métodos usados para obtenção de uma amostra ultra-fria de átomos de estrôncio. Os métodos usados para preparar a amostra são: um desacelerador Zeeman e duas armadilhas magneto-ópticas (MOT). O primeiro MOT operando na transição 1S0−1 P1 (azul) e o segundo na transição 1S0−3P1 (vermelha). Com relação ao primeiro estágio, se faz necessário o uso de um laser de comprimento de onda de 497nm, que através da transição 3P2−3D2 recuperam os átomos que sofrem transição para os chamados estados escuros. O último estágio é uma armadilha de dipolo para átomos de estrôncio usando apenas um feixe laser com comprimento de onda de 1064nm. O carregamento dessa armadilha é feito transferindo uma amostra atômica já pré-resfriadas. Explicamos de que maneira é feita a análise e aquisição dos resultados apresentados. Ressaltamos ainda a importância dos resultados obtidos para o projeto atual e para projetos futuros. / The present work describes the methods used to obtain a sample of ultra cold atoms of strontium. The methods necessary for obtaining the sample are: a Zeeman decelerator and a two step magneto-optical trap (MOTs). The first MOT works on the blue transition 1S0−1P1 while the second is operating on the red transition 1S0−3P1 transition. In the first stage a laser operating at 497nm is used to drive the 3P2−3D2 transition in order to prevent atoms accumulating in the 3P1 dark state. The last stage, after cooling, consists in a dipole trap for strontium atoms using only one laser beam with 1064nm wavelength. This trap is loaded by the transfer of a pre cooled atomic sample. We explain how the analysis and acquisition of the presented data are made. We also emphasize the importance of the obtained results for the current project as well as for future ones.

Cette thèse traite d'aspects originaux ayant attrait au domaine des isolants topologiques et de leurs simulations par des systèmes d'atomes ultra-froids. Tout d'abord, ce travail aborde des concepts fondamentaux tels que la notion de géométrie et de topologie dans le contexte de la mécanique quantique ainsi que les techniques de simulations d'Hamiltonien avec les atomes ultra-froids. Ensuite on présentera trois travaux originaux liés aux isolants topologiques et leurs simulations. / Doctorat en Sciences / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Les propriétés exacerbées des atomes de Rydberg ont permis d'étendre les possibilités offertes par les atomes froids dans la création de gaz d'atomes en très forte interaction, avec des applications notamment en simulations quantiques, dans la physique à N corps ou dans la réalisation de portes quantiques grâce au phénomène de blocage dipolaire. L'utilisation des atomes de Rydberg froids est cependant actuellement limitée par le fait qu'il n'est pas possible de continuer d'appliquer les techniques expérimentales de manipulation optique avec les atomes à un électron actif. L’attention de la communauté des atomes de Rydberg froids s’est donc récemment portée sur les atomes à deux électrons actifs qui offrent la possibilités, une fois l’un des deux électrons excité vers un état de Rydberg, de disposer d’un second électron optiquement actif qu’il va être possible de manipuler par laser. L’objectif de cette thèse est d’étendre les techniques de manipulation optique aux atomes à deux électrons actifs excités dans des états de Rydberg, dans le cas de l’atome d’ytterbium. Elle présente d’une part la conception et l’assemblage du dispositif expérimental permettant l’obtention d’une source d’atomes de Rydberg froids d’ytterbium. A terme, ce montage permettra la manipulation optique de ces atomes de Rydberg. D’autre part, elle présente le développement d’un modèle numérique implémentant la théorie du défaut quantique à plusieurs voies pour permettre la détermination théorique du spectre énergétique de l’ytterbium ainsi que son comportement sous l’effet de perturbations extérieures. / The exacerbated properties of Rydberg atoms have extended the possibilities offered by cold atoms in creating atomic gases in very strong interaction with applications including quantum simulations in many-body physics or in achieving of quantum gates with the dipole blocking phenomenon. The use of cold Rydberg atoms is however currently limited by the fact that it is not possible to continue to apply the experimental techniques of optical manipulation with the atoms to an active electron. The attention of the Rydberg atoms cold community is recently focused on the two active electron atoms offering possibilities, once one of the two electrons excited to a Rydberg state, to provide a second optically active electron that it will be possible to manipulate with laser light.The objective of this thesis is to extend the optical manipulation techniques to atoms with two active electrons excited in Rydberg states, in the case of the ytterbium atom. It has on the one hand the design and assembly of the experimental apparatus for obtaining a source of cold Rydberg ytterbium atoms. Ultimately, this device will allow the optical manipulation of these Rydberg atoms. Furthermore, it presents the development of a numerical model that implements the multichannel quantum defect theory to the theoretical determination of the energy spectrum of ytterbium and its behavior under the influence of external perturbations.

Les atomes de Rydberg constituent des objets idéaux pour l’étude des systèmes physiques en interaction à longue portée. Transposer à ces atomes très excités les techniques habituelles d’imagerie et de piegeage des atomes froids offrirait de nouvelles opportunités pour le domaine de la simulation quantique. Notre approche consiste à utiliser un atome à deux électrons de valence optiquement actifs tel que l’ytterbium. En effet, les transitions optiques du coeur ionique de cet atome ouvrent la voie à de nombreuses perspectives pour la manipulation optique dans l'état de Rydberg. Lorsque l’atome est doublement excité, il peut néanmoins auto-ioniser puisque son énergie se situe au delà de la première limite d’ionisation. La possibilité de s’affranchir totalement de l’autoionisation est une question ouverte.Dans cette thèse, nous présentons en premier lieu les contributions apportées au montage de l’expérience,du refroidissement des atomes d’ytterbium sur la raie d’intercombinaison à l’excitation dans des états de Rydberg. A cause des interactions entre électrons de valence, la spectroscopie de ces états très excités est plus complexe dans l'ytterbium que dans les atomes alcalins. Une étude expérimentale couplée à une analyse par théorie du défaut quantique à plusieurs voies (MQDT) a été réalisée sur diverses séries Rydberg (s, p, d et f). Cette étude, prérequis essentiel, a permis d’améliorer la précision de plus de deux ordres de grandeur sur la spectroscopie des séries étudiées.L’excitation du coeur ionique a ensuite été mise en place sur la transition 6s1/2 → 6p1/2 . Nous avons alors étudié expérimentalement et théoriquement l’excitation du coeur isolé pour des états de Rydberg de grand moment orbital (l = 5 - 9). Cette étude a montré que l'auto-ionisation est dominée par le couplage au continuum de l'état de coeur 5d3/2. Par opposition a l'atome de baryum, pour lequel l'autoionisation chute rapidement avec le moment orbital de l'électron Rydberg, nous avons montré que cette tendance est moins marquée sur l'ytterbium. Grace à cette étude, nous pourrons déterminer les états pour lesquels la manipulation optique par laser est possible. / Rydberg atoms offer an ideal platform for the study of long-range interacting systems.However, usual techniques for imaging and trapping are unavailable in alkali Rydberg atoms. Our approach rely on the use of a two-optically-active-valence-electrons atom such as ytterbium. Ionic core transitions of this atom offer new perspecives for optical manipulation in the Rydberg state. However,questions remain open, especially on the possibilities of avoiding the autoionization, process which occurs when the atom is doubly excited.In this thesis, we report on the construction of the experiment, from the cooling and trapping of theatoms to the excitation in Rydberg states. Because of the interactions between valence electrons, the spectroscopy of these highly excited states is relatively complicated. An experimental study, coupled to a multi-channel quantum defect analysis (MQDT) has been done on the s,p,d and f Rydberg series. This study produced an improvement on the precision of the spectroscopy of this series by more than two orders of magnitude. We then studied the isolated core excitationon the 6s1/2 -> 6p1/2 transition for Rydberg states of large orbital quantum numbers (l=5-9). This study showed that auto-ionisation is mostly due to the coupling to the continuum of the 5d3/2 core state. In opposition to the barium atom, where auto-ionisation drops rapidly with the orbital quantum number, we have shown that ytterbium is less favourable to that extent. Thanks to this study we will be able to determine which states are good candidates for the optical manipulation.

Neste trabalho, descrevemos a construção de uma armadilha óptica de dipolo, tipo Quest, para átomos de Rydberg utilizando um laser de CO2 de alta potência. A amostra aprisionada apresenta aproximadamente 3 × 106 átomos de 85Rb numa densidade 4 × 1011 átomos/cm3, em temperaturas da ordem 30 µK. O tempo de vida da armadilha é da ordem de 200 ms. Neste sistema, observamos a fotoionização dos estados de Rydberg devido ao laser de CO2 em 10, 6 µm, contudo fomos incapazes de quantificá-lo. Além disso, medimos o tempo de vida do estado 37D do Rb na armadilha de dipolo, o resultado foi compatível ao encontrado na literatura. Em suma, o sistema esta operante para experimentos mais complexos. / In this work, we describe the implementation of a QUEST dipole trap for Rydberg atoms using a CO2 high power laser. The trapped atomic sample has approximately 3 × 106 85Rb atoms, at a density of 4 × 1011 atoms/cm3 and a temperature of about 30 µK. The trap lifetime is about 200 ms. We observed photoionization of the Rydberg states due to the CO2 laser at 10, 6 µK, however we were unable to quantify it. Furthermore, we measured the 37D state lifetime of the Rb in the dipole trap, the experimental result was in agreement with the literature. In summary, the system is fully operating for more complex experiments.