Trapping and Manipulating Neutral Atoms with Electrostatic Fields

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.