Progress Towards a Spinor Bose-Einstein Condensate Machine

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.

Grantor dc:publisher

Creighton University

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• Holman, Nathan S.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Wrubel, Jonathan P.

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright is retained by the Author. A non-exclusive distribution right is granted to Creighton University and to ProQuest following the publishing model selected above.

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10504/68847

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:cdr.creighton.edu:10504/68847