Professor Christopher Foot

Abstract:

Methods to manipulate the individual constituents of an ultracold quantum gas mixture are essential tools for a number of applications, such as the direct quantum simulation of impurity physics. We investigate a scheme in which species-selective control is achieved using magnetic potentials dressed with multiple radiofrequencies, exploiting the different Landé gF-factors of the constituent atomic species. We describe a mixture dressed with two frequencies, where atoms are confined in harmonic potentials with a controllable degree of overlap between the two atomic species. This is then extended to a four radiofrequency scheme in which a double well potential for one species is overlaid with a single well for the other. The discussion is framed with parameters that are suitable for a 85Rb and 87Rb mixture, but is readily generalised to other combinations.

Abstract:

We consider the stability of systems subjected to periodic parametric driving in the context of ions confined by oscillating electric fields. The behavior of these systems can be understood in terms of a pseudopotential approximation and resonances arising from parametric excitation. We investigate the key properties of a way of operating a linear Paul trap with two radio frequencies that simultaneously confines two species with extremely different charge-to-mass ratios. The theoretical calculations have been verified by molecular dynamics simulations and normal modes analysis.