Open AccessDirect measurement of the Atom number in a Bose condensate
Author(s) -
Hung-Wen Cho,
Yan-Cheng He,
Thorsten Peters,
Yi-Hsin Chen,
Han-Chang Chen,
Sheng-Chiun Lin,
Yi-Chi Lee,
Ite A. Yu
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.15.012114
Subject(s) - atom laser , atom (system on chip) , atomic physics , physics , optics , bose–einstein condensate , absorption (acoustics) , laser , laser beams , polarization (electrochemistry) , beam (structure) , quantum mechanics , chemistry , computer science , embedded system
We report on directly measuring the atom number in a Bose- Einstein condensate by the method of optical pumping. Only the branching ratio of the spontaneous decay in the system and the absorption energy of a probe laser beam are required to determine the atom number. The measured absorption energy is not affected by the measurement condition such as the intensity, detuning, and polarization of the probe beam, the magnetic field, etc. We have shown that atom numbers as low as a few thousands can be measured. The atom number is an important parameter in the studies of Bose condensates and its accuracy is greatly improved by this sensitive and robust method.