Optical bistability and collective behavior of atoms trapped in a high-Q ring cavity
- Institut fuer Laser-Physik, Universitaet Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, D-22761 Hamburg (Germany)
We study the collective motion of atoms confined in an optical lattice operating inside a high-finesse ring cavity. A simplified theoretical model for the dynamics of the system is developed upon the assumption of adiabaticity of the atomic motion. We show that in a regime where the light shift per photon times the number of atoms exceeds the linewidth of the cavity resonance, the otherwise tiny retroaction of the atoms upon the light field becomes a significant feature of the system. As a result dispersive optical bistability can arise and the lattice positions is determined by the strength of the atom-cavity coupling rather than by the phases of the incoupled light beams. Solving the complete set of classical equations of motion confirms these findings, however, additional nonadiabatic phenomena are predicted, such as, for example, self-induced radial breathing oscillations. We compare these results with experiments involving laser-cooled Rb{sub 85} atoms trapped in an optical lattice inside a ring cavity with a finesse of 1.8x10{sup 5}. Our observations are in excellent agreement with our theoretical predictions.
- OSTI ID:
- 20640869
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review. A, Vol. 69, Issue 3; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevA.69.033403; (c) 2004 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1050-2947
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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