Home > Press > Elucidating energy shifts in optical tweezers: Physicists are providing an all-in-one guide to help calculate the effect the use of optical tweezers has on the energy levels of atoms under study
 |
Abstract:
A small piece of paper sticks to an electrically charged plastic ruler. The principle of this simple classroom physics experiment is applied at the microscopic scale by so-called optical tweezers to get the likes of polystyrene micro-beads and even living cells to "stick" to a laser beam, or to trap atoms at ultra-low temperatures. Physicist Fam Le Kien and his colleagues from the Institute of Atomic and Subatomic Physics of the Vienna University of Technology, Austria, provide a comprehensive manual with general theoretical tools, definitions, and spectroscopic data sets for calculating the energy levels of atoms, which are modified by light emanating from optical tweezers, in a study about to be published in EPJ D.
Elucidating energy shifts in optical tweezers: Physicists are providing an all-in-one guide to help calculate the effect the use of optical tweezers has on the energy levels of atoms under study
Heidelberg, Germany | Posted on May 8th, 2013One issue that occurs when trapping atoms with optical tweezers is that the laser beam modifies atoms' energy levels. As a result, it changes the frequency at which the atoms emit or absorb light and microwave radiation. Depending on the experiment, this effect can have important consequences and its magnitude might need to be calculated. Interestingly, the change in the energy levels can be seen as partly due to a fictitious magnetic field, induced by the light field effect on the atoms. This is akin to introducing fictitious forces when describing a body's motion in a rotating reference frame.
The authors show that these fictitious magnetic fields add up to the same effect as real magnetic fields. This will help physicists to intuitively foresee the effects that occur in their experiments when external magnetic fields either cannot be avoided or are intentionally applied. Ultimately, this all-in-one guide could be used in fundamental research as well as for applications such as quantum simulators and quantum computers.
####
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
Sophia Grein
Copyright © Springer
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Bookmark:
| Related Links |
| Related News Press |
News and information
Beyond wires: Bubble technology powers next-generation electronics:New laser-based bubble printing technique creates ultra-flexible liquid metal circuits November 8th, 2024
Nanoparticle bursts over the Amazon rainforest: Rainfall induces bursts of natural nanoparticles that can form clouds and further precipitation over the Amazon rainforest November 8th, 2024
Nanotechnology: Flexible biosensors with modular design November 8th, 2024
Exosomes: A potential biomarker and therapeutic target in diabetic cardiomyopathy November 8th, 2024
Quantum Computing
New quantum encoding methods slash circuit complexity in machine learning November 8th, 2024
Quantum researchers cause controlled ‘wobble’ in the nucleus of a single atom September 13th, 2024
Researchers observe “locked” electron pairs in a superconductor cuprate August 16th, 2024
Physicists unlock the secret of elusive quantum negative entanglement entropy using simple classical hardware August 16th, 2024
Discoveries
Breaking carbon–hydrogen bonds to make complex molecules November 8th, 2024
Exosomes: A potential biomarker and therapeutic target in diabetic cardiomyopathy November 8th, 2024
Turning up the signal November 8th, 2024
Nanofibrous metal oxide semiconductor for sensory face November 8th, 2024
Announcements
Nanotechnology: Flexible biosensors with modular design November 8th, 2024
Exosomes: A potential biomarker and therapeutic target in diabetic cardiomyopathy November 8th, 2024
Turning up the signal November 8th, 2024
Nanofibrous metal oxide semiconductor for sensory face November 8th, 2024
Interviews/Book Reviews/Essays/Reports/Podcasts/Journals/White papers/Posters
Beyond wires: Bubble technology powers next-generation electronics:New laser-based bubble printing technique creates ultra-flexible liquid metal circuits November 8th, 2024
Nanoparticle bursts over the Amazon rainforest: Rainfall induces bursts of natural nanoparticles that can form clouds and further precipitation over the Amazon rainforest November 8th, 2024
Nanotechnology: Flexible biosensors with modular design November 8th, 2024
Exosomes: A potential biomarker and therapeutic target in diabetic cardiomyopathy November 8th, 2024
Tools
Turning up the signal November 8th, 2024
Quantum researchers cause controlled ‘wobble’ in the nucleus of a single atom September 13th, 2024
Faster than one pixel at a time – new imaging method for neutral atomic beam microscopes developed by Swansea researchers August 16th, 2024
Photonics/Optics/Lasers
Groundbreaking precision in single-molecule optoelectronics August 16th, 2024
Single atoms show their true color July 5th, 2024
Quantum nanoscience
Quantum researchers cause controlled ‘wobble’ in the nucleus of a single atom September 13th, 2024
Researchers observe “locked” electron pairs in a superconductor cuprate August 16th, 2024
Searching for dark matter with the coldest quantum detectors in the world July 5th, 2024
 |
||
 |
||
| The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
 |
||
|
|
||
| Premium Products | ||
 |
||
|
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
 |
||
|
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||
|
|
||