Trapping and manipulating neutral atoms with electrostatic fields

Phys Rev Lett. 2003 Dec 5;91(23):233201. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.91.233201. Epub 2003 Dec 2.

Abstract

We report on experiments with cold thermal (7)Li atoms confined in combined magnetic and electric potentials. A novel type of three-dimensional trap was formed by modulating a magnetic guide using electrostatic fields. We observed atoms trapped in a string of up to six individual such traps, a controlled transport of an atomic cloud over a distance of 400 microm, and a dynamic splitting of a single trap into a double well potential. Applications for quantum information processing are discussed.