Photon Counting for Bragg Spectroscopy of Quantum Gases

ORAL

Abstract

Spectroscopy of low-energy excitations has proved to be an invaluable tool in understanding the many-body physics of ultracold quantum gases. Typically for these measurements, the quantum gas is driven by some field, and the response measured through time-of-flight images of the gas. Often overlooked, however, is the response of the field itself due to its interaction with the gas. We present a method for measuring the response of a light field used to create excitations for Bragg spectroscopy. We describe the techniques used to achieve shot-noise limited detection of this light-field, and also present Bragg spectroscopy of a Bose-Einstein condensate using this novel technique.

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Authors

  • Juan Pino

    • JILA, Quantum Physics Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology and Department of Physics, University of Colorado

  • Robert Wild

    • JILA, Quantum Physics Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology and Department of Physics, University of Colorado

  • Philip Makotyn

    • JILA, Quantum Physics Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology and Department of Physics, University of Colorado

  • Deborah Jin

    • JILA, Quantum Physics Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology and Department of Physics, University of Colorado

  • Eric Cornell

    • JILA, Quantum Physics Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology and Department of Physics, University of Colorado