Controlled atom dynamics in a double-well optical lattice

Abstract

We report on the experimental demonstration of dynamic control of the motional state of atoms in a 2D double-well optical lattice. First we describe experiments in which the atomic distributions obtained by loading Bose–Einstein condensates of rubidium atoms in the lattice are dynamically split by transforming a 2D lattice with period λ into a 2D lattice with period λ/2, and we show how this procedure allows for the study of the coherence and interaction properties of the system. Then we show how we can efficiently adiabatically transfer the population between adjacent sites of the lattice, as well as between different energy bands, by using dynamic modifications of the potential.