Creating versatile atom traps by applying near resonant laser light in magnetic traps

Abstract

We utilize the combination of two standard trapping techniques, a magnetic trap and an optical trap in a Raman setup, to propose a versatile and tunable trap for cold atoms. The created potential provides several advantages over conventional trapping potentials. One can easily convert the type of the trap, e.g., from a single well to a double well trap. Atoms in different internal states can be trapped in different trap types, thereby enabling the realization of experiments with multi-component Bose-Einstein condensates. Moreover, one can achieve variations of the trapping potential on small length scales without the need of microstructures. We present the potential surfaces for different setups, demonstrate their tunability, give a semi-analytical expression for the potential, and propose experiments which can be realized within such a trap.