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Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 043602 (2008) [4 pages]

Coherent Delocalization of Atomic Wave Packets in Driven Lattice Potentials

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V. V. Ivanov1, A. Alberti1, M. Schioppo1, G. Ferrari1, M. Artoni2, M. L. Chiofalo3, and G. M. Tino1,*
1Dipartimento di Fisica and LENS-Università di Firenze, CNR-INFM, INFN-Sezione di Firenze, via Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
2Department of Chemistry and Physics of Materials-University of Brescia, and LENS, Italy
3INFN and Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

Received 13 September 2007; published 31 January 2008

Atomic wave packets loaded into a phase-modulated vertical optical-lattice potential exhibit a coherent delocalization dynamics arising from intraband transitions among Wannier-Stark levels. Wannier-Stark intraband transitions are here observed by monitoring the in situ wave-packet extent. By varying the modulation frequency, we find resonances at integer multiples of the Bloch frequency. The resonances show a Fourier-limited width for interrogation times up to 2 s. This can also be used to determine the gravity acceleration with ppm resolution.

© 2008 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.043602
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.043602
PACS:
42.50.Wk, 03.75.Lm, 04.80.−y

*Guglielmo.Tino@fi.infn.it

 
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