MRI: Acquisition of Coupled Wavemeters for Precise Excitation of Charged and Neutral Particles

通过一种名为激光冷却的过程，稀薄的原子气体可以被减慢和限制，悬浮在超纯钢真空室内。在这一点上，捕获的原子可以用于下一代应用，如电压传感或微观晶体结构的模拟。为了探索这类应用，首席研究人员计划使用两种不同的奇异原子--Rb和Yb，每种原子都需要几种颜色迥异的激光才能成功地进行激光冷却。这些激光器的颜色将跨越从紫外光到红外光的光谱区域，只有在精确测量激光光包(激光光子)的能量并将其控制在约0.0001%的情况下，才能发生悬浮。这一重大研究仪器项目资助了一对名为波长计的高精度设备，以足够的精度测量光子能量。这两个仪器的设计目的是在光谱的不同部分发挥作用，将通过光缆联网，使两名主要研究人员能够在他们物理上分开的实验室中访问完整的测量范围。这些先进的测量能力不仅将产生新的科学结果，还将有助于为米德尔伯里学院的本科生产生有意义的研究项目。首席研究人员(古塞尔和赫斯)正在计划分别使用高激发里德堡态发射的冷Rb原子和捕获的冷Yb离子的多同位素链进行实验。这些粒子需要370到1250 nm之间的激发光才能发生转变，而这些转变很难通过二次观察(如吸收光谱)来确定。这一重大研究仪器项目资助了菲佐和迈克尔逊波长计(波长计)网络，以实时测量激光波长。为了覆盖两个研究小组所需的整个光谱，该网络将由两个波长灵敏度范围不同的波长计组成，并具有足够的测量速度，以通过波长计的反馈稳定激光器。波长计将使用光纤链路和多路光纤开关连接到每个PI的研究空间，从而允许同时监测每个研究小组所需的全范围激光。有了这个仪器，主要研究人员推进了两个研究领域：观察Rydberg原子受到带电导线空间依赖力的影响，这突出了量子制度中的斯塔克效应，以及实验共捕获不同同位素物种的离子，以研究它们作为量子比特离子的共性冷却剂的有效性。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Through a process called laser cooling, dilute gasses of atoms can be slowed and confined, levitating inside ultra-pure steel vacuum chambers. At this point the trapped atoms can be used for next generation applications, like voltage sensing or the simulation of microscopic crystal structure. To pursue such applications, the principal investigators plan to use two different exotic atoms, rubidium and ytterbium, which each require several lasers with vastly different colors to successfully laser cool. These lasers’ colors will span from the ultraviolet to infrared regions of the spectrum of light, and levitation can only happen if the energy of the packets of laser light (laser photons) is precisely measured and controlled to within about 0.0001%. This Major Research Instrumentation project funds a pair of high precision devices called wavemeters to measure the photon energies with sufficient accuracy. The two meters, which are designed to function in different parts of the light spectrum, will be networked together with fiber optic cables, enabling both principal investigators to have access to the full measurement range in their physically separate labs. These advanced measurement capabilities will not only generate new scientific results, but also help generate meaningful research projects for undergraduate students at Middlebury College.The principal investigators (Goodsell and Hess) are planning experiments using, respectively, launched cold rubidium atoms in highly excited Rydberg states and chains of multiple isotopes of trapped cold ytterbium ions. These particles require excitation light between 370 and 1250 nm for transitions that are hard to determine by secondary observation such as absorption spectroscopy. This Major Research Instrumentation project funds a network of Fizeau and Michelson wavelength meters (wavemeters) to make real-time measurements of laser wavelength. To span the entire spectrum required by both research groups, the network will consist of two wavemeters with different wavelength sensitivity ranges and sufficient measurement speed to stabilize lasers with feedback from the wavemeters. The wavemeters will be connected to each PI's research space using fiber optic links and multiplexed fiber switches, therefore allowing the full range of lasers required by each research group to be monitored simultaneously. With this instrumentation, the principal investigators advance two areas of research: observations of Rydberg atoms subject to the spatially-dependent force of a charged wire, which highlight the Stark effect in a quantum regime, and experiments co-trapping ions of different isotopic species in order to study their efficacy as sympathetic coolants for qubit ions.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.