Progress Towards a Spinor Bose-Einstein Condensate Machine
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Authors
Holman, Nathan S.
Issue Date
2015-05-22
Volume
Issue
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
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Abstract
Laser cooling and trapping of neutral particles has become a major area of research in atomic physics with the discovery of the first Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) in 1995. These ultracold atomic vapors allow for study of fundamental quantum electromagnetic properties of atoms that are otherwise inaccessible due to large thermal energy fluctuations disrupting the quantum state. To this end, I have constructed and characterized a laser cooling system to be used to study spinor physics in a 41K BEC. In this thesis, I detail the major components of the laser cooling system that I worked on including the master external cavity diode laser (ECDL), tapered amplifier, laser frequency characterization subsystems, and saturated absorption spectroscopy lock. Additionally, I discuss the development of a novel passive magnetic field fluctuation-cancelling device that uses high temperature superconducting ribbon to take advantage of Lenz' Law. These components will serve as the backbone to the laser cooling apparatus needed to condense 41K into the quantum mechanical ground state.
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Publisher
Creighton University
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Copyright is retained by the Author.
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