Trapped Atoms

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Trapped Atoms

2/27/2019

By: Kyle Wang


Scientists have figured out how to use light and photonic crystals in order to trap atoms for at least five minutes, within one atomic unit. Atoms are confined based on magnetic attractions; the most attraction usually comes from unpaired electrons. The enclosure is relatively small; it has a length of about 1100 nanometers long, a width of about 750 nanometers, and a height of about 825 nanometers. Traps like these have been around for a while, however, they could only trap certain atoms and certain times.

The newest atom trapper is much more versatile, and can trap a lot more atoms. Before atoms can be trapped they must be cooled, and both processes are relatively similar.The simplest photonic atom trapper is a 1D array of rectangular holes, and the atoms are trapped inside of the holes. Another trapper consists of two parallel silicon nitride nanobeams, each containing circular holes, and atoms are trapped between gaps in beams. There are modes within the light that can have large amplitudes, but radiate energy into the surrounding vacuum, and vice versa. In addition to changing the modes, other parts of the trappers can be changed, such as spacing of the holes, width of the box, and the thickness of the atom trapper.

The creators of the atom trapper got Nobel Prizes, proving the importance of this device. Steven Chu of Stanford University, Claude Cohen-Tannoudji a college in France, and William Phillips of National Institute of Standards of Technology in Maryland, all played a part in the creation and the Nobel Prize. The creation of the trapper was proposed back in 1975 by professors from Stanford University. The first creation of the trapper probably came from David Wineland and David Dehmelt, who each won the Nobel Prize in 1989.

The purpose of this atom trapper is to allow atoms to last longer, so they can be studied. This is especially crucial for new elements, and figuring out what atoms and properties they possess is crucial in enhancing our understanding of the world. While there are challenges and imperfections to the latest version of the atom trapper, it is one step closer to being able to trap atoms more effectively, which might be necessary as we discover more atoms that have complicated structures or have properties that make it hard to contain. Problems like this are already starting to be addressed, through simulations and experiments.
The Nobel Prize Winners

Figure caption
Image of an Atom Trapper







https://physics.aps.org/story/v3/st29
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1367-2630/15/8/083026/pdf
https://www.nature.com/articles/39669

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