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Single-Atom Source in the Picokelvin Regime

A. G. Manning, R. Khakimov, R. G. Dall, and A. G. Truscott
Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 130403 – Published 24 September 2014
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Abstract

An important aspect of the rapidly growing field of quantum atom optics is exploring the behavior of ultracold atoms at a deeper level than the mean field approximation, where the quantum properties of individual atoms becomes important. Major recent advances have been achieved with the creation and detection of reliable single-atom sources, which is a crucial tool for testing fundamental quantum processes. Here, we create a source comprised of a single ultracold metastable helium atom, which enables novel free-space quantum atom optics experiments to be performed with single massive particles with large de Broglie wavelengths.

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  • Received 16 April 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.130403

© 2014 American Physical Society

Synopsis

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One Very Cold Atom

Published 24 September 2014

Researchers have demonstrated a new source of individual helium atoms at picokelvin temperatures, paving the way for testing the entanglement of particles with mass.

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Authors & Affiliations

A. G. Manning, R. Khakimov, R. G. Dall, and A. G. Truscott

  • Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200, Australia

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Issue

Vol. 113, Iss. 13 — 26 September 2014

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