Donut modes and photonic hollow fibers: a possible scheme for atom transport

Bragg fibers are a specific class of photonic bandgap fibers that have the capacity to be optimized for low-loss transmission of ``donut'' modes. This ability makes these fibers attractive as possible tool for atom optics. One example would be to transport neutral atoms through harsh environments. This would be possible by co-propagating a blue-detuned donut mode with the atoms through the fiber. We have studied the transmission efficiency of ``donut'' Bessel and Laguerre-Gaussian modes through a fiber designed to transmit 780 nm light both experimentally and theoretically. In this poster we will describe the results and discuss the prospects for atom loading and other applications.