Southwest Quantum Information and Technology

Noise-enabled ratchets in cold atom dissipative lattices

Presenting Author: Anthony Rapp, Miami University
Contributing Author(s): Patrick Janovick, Samir Bali

By shining an additional laser beam onto a 3D dissipative optical lattice we introduce a propagating modulation, in either intensity or polarization, that “ripples” through the lattice and “drags” along some cold atoms. The underlying physical mechanism is discussed, and data presented to elucidate the interplay between noise (spontaneous emission) and directed motion. Our goal is to implement Brownian ratchets in optical lattices with efficiencies rivaling those of naturally occurring biomolecular motors. Biomolecular motors outperform current artificial nanomotors, no matter what choice of architecture, by at least an order of magnitude. We hope to achieve our goal by exploiting the unparalleled flexibility offered by optical lattices in tuning the coupling between the atomic ratchet and environmental fluctuations.

(Session 5 : Thursday from 5:00pm - 7:00 pm)