Bose-Einstein condensates have been produced in an optical box trap. This novel optical trap type has strong confinement in two directions comparable to that which is possible in an optical lattice, yet produces individual condensates rather than the thousands typical of a lattice. The box trap is integrated with single atom detection capability, paving the way for studies of quantum atom statistics.

We report the direct observation of sub-Poissonian number fluctuation for a degenerate Bose gas confined in an optical trap. Reduction of number fluctuations below the Poissonian limit is observed for average numbers that range from 300 to 60 atoms.

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In order to provide a guide for the design and optimization of bowtie slot antennas in the visible and near infrared spectral regime, their optical properties have been investigated with emphasis on geometry and materials. Although primarily theoretical, experimental investigations for reduced thickness cases are also included. As characterized by their field patterns, two types of resonances are discussed: plasmonic and Fabry-Pérot-like resonances. These resonance types show a linear dependence on aperture perimeter and film thickness, respectively, while showing a complementary behavior with near independence of the other respective parameter. Metal properties, as in the Drude model, are also considered. Various metals with respectively different skin depths are studied, showing a nearly linear dependence of the resonance wavelength on skin depth.

We present an experimental method to create a single high frequency optical trap for atoms based on an elongated HermiteGaussian TEM 01 mode beam. This trap results in confinement strength similar to that which may be obtained in an optical lattice. We discuss an optical setup to produce the trapping beam and then detail a method to load a Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC) into a TEM 01 trap. Using this method, we have succeeded in producing individual highly confined lower dimensional condensates. 77 5315 (1996). 23. We use values for the D 2 line of rubidium 87: Is ∼ = 1.67 mW/cm 2 , Γ ∼ = 2π · 6.065 MHz, ω 0 ∼ = 2π · 384.23 THz, and m ∼ = 1.443 × 10 −25 kg. In Eq. (3), it is important not to use the common rotating wave approximation (which is to assume |ω 0 − ω| ≪ ω 0 + ω and neglect the second term in parenthesis) because the detuning is too far for this to be valid. This is a larger effect than explicitly including the D 1 line which is typically done for nearer detunings. 24. This is a gradium index lens with f /# = 2.2.