A system of ultracold atoms in an optical lattice has been regarded as an ideal quantum simulator for a Hubbard model with extremely high controllability of the system parameters. While making use of the controllability, a comprehensive measurement across the weakly to strongly interacting regimes in the Hubbard model to discuss the quantum many-body state is still limited. Here we observe a great change in the excitation energy spectra across the two regimes in an atomic Bose-Hubbard system by using a spectroscopic technique, which can resolve the site occupancy in the lattice. By quantitatively comparing the observed spectra and numerical simulations based on sum rule relations and a binary fluid treatment under a finite temperature Gutzwiller approximation, we show that the spectra reflect the coexistence of a delocalized superfluid state and a localized insulating state across the two regimes.

We demonstrate an all-fiber cavity quantum electrodynamics system with a trapped single atom in the strong coupling regime. We use a nanofiber Fabry-Perot cavity, that is, an optical nanofiber sandwiched by two fiber-Bragg-grating mirrors. Measurements of the cavity transmission spectrum with a single atom in a state-insensitive nanofiber trap clearly reveal the vacuum Rabi splitting.

Single-photon sources are important elements in quantum optics and quantum information science. It is crucial that such sources be able to couple photons emitted from a single quantum emitter to a single propagating mode, preferably to the guided mode of a single-mode optical fiber, with high efficiency. Various photonic devices have been successfully demonstrated to efficiently couple photons from an emitter to a single mode of a cavity or a waveguide. However, efficient coupling of these devices to optical fibers is sometimes challenging. Here we show that up to 38% of photons from an emitter can be directly coupled to a single-mode optical fiber by utilizing the flat tip of a silica nanofiber. With the aid of a metallic mirror, the efficiency can be increased to 76%. The use of a silicon waveguide further increases the efficiency to 87%. This simple device can be applied to various quantum emitters.

We show that a hemispherically shaped tip on an air-clad optical fiber simultaneously works as a high-numerical-aperture lens and efficiently collects photons from an emitter placed near the beam waist into the fundamental guided mode. Numerical simulations show that the coupling efficiency reaches about 25%. We have constructed a confocal microscope with such a lensed fiber. The measurements are in good agreement with the numerical simulation. The monolithic structure with a high-photon-collection efficiency will provide a flexible substitute for a conventional lens system in various experiments such as single-atom trapping with a tightly focused optical trap. (C) 2014 Optical Society of America

We study a strongly interacting array of Bose-Einstein condensates trapped in a one-dimensional (1D) optical lattice. The system is described by a nonstandard 1D Bose-Hubbard model in which both the tunneling matrix element and the on-site atomic interaction depend on the lattice site due to the interaction broadening of the local wave function and the system inhomogeneity. We quantitatively compare theoretical analyses based on the Gutzwiller approximation with experimental observations obtained using ytterbium atoms. We show that atomic states are highly number squeezed owing to strong interatomic interactions as the lattice potential becomes deeper. Furthermore, the calculated inhomogeneous collisional broadening of spectroscopic line shapes agrees well with high-resolution spectra measured by using the ultranarrow magnetic quadrupole S-1(0)-P-3(2) transition.

We observe magnetic Feshbach resonances in a collision between the ground and metastable states of two-electron atoms of ytterbium (Yb). We measure the on-site interaction of doubly occupied sites of an atomic Mott-insulator state in a three-dimensional optical lattice as a collisional frequency shift in a high-resolution laser spectroscopy. The observed spectra are well fitted by a simple theoretical formula, in which two particles with an s-wave contact interaction are confined in a harmonic trap. This analysis reveals a wide variation of the interaction with a resonance behavior around a magnetic field of about 1.1 G for the energetically lowest magnetic sublevel of Yb-170, as well as around 360 mG for the energetically highest magnetic sublevel of Yb-174. The observed Feshbach resonance can only be induced by an anisotropic interatomic interaction. This scheme will open the door to a variety of studies using two-electron atoms with tunable interaction. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.173201

We have performed numerical simulations of light collecting devices utilizing a silica nanofiber tip. Up to 39% of light from a point dipole source can be coupled to the fundamental guided mode of the nanofiber.

We observe long-lived tightly bound van der Waals molecules of ytterbium in a three-dimensional optical lattice with a lifetime of 8.0 s. The molecules, state-selectively produced by a photoassociation technique from a Bose-Einstein condensate or an atomic Mott insulator, are successfully detected with a photodissociation method where the molecules are photodissociated into two atoms and the atoms are captured by a magneto-optical trap or optical molasses, for the fluorescence detection. This work will open up various possibilities of research with van der Waals molecules in an optical lattice.

We demonstrate optical magnetic resonance imaging (OMRI) of a Bose-Einstein condensate of ytterbium atoms trapped in a one-dimensional (1D) optical lattice using an ultra-narrow optical transition 1S 0↔ 3P 2 (m=-2). We developed a vacuum chamber equipped with a thin glass cell, which provides high optical access and allows a compact design of magnetic coils. A line shape of a measured spectrum of the OMRI is well described by a spatial distribution of the atoms in a 1D optical lattice with the Thomas-Fermi approximation and an applied magnetic field gradient. The observed spectrum exhibits a periodic structure corresponding to the optical lattice periodicity. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.

High-resolution laser spectroscopy of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) was performed by using the ultranarrow magnetic quadrupole (6s(2)) (1)S(0) <-> (6s6p) (3)P(2) transition of ytterbium (Yb). The transition from the Doppler-broadened spectrum of thermal atoms to the asymmetric spectrum, reflecting the inhomogeneous density distribution of a BEC in a harmonic trap, was observed. The role of the inter-atomic interaction was highlighted by performing spectroscopy of a BEC loaded in a one-dimensional (1D) optical lattice.

We propose a new quantum-computing scheme using ultracold neutral ytterbium atoms in an optical lattice, especially in a monolayer of three-dimensional optical lattice. The nuclear Zeeman sublevels define a qubit. This choice avoids the natural phase evolution due to the magnetic dipole interaction between qubits. The Zeeman sublevels with large magnetic moments in the long-lived metastable state are also exploited to address individual atoms and to construct a controlled-multiqubit gate. Estimated parameters required for this scheme show that this proposal is scalable and experimentally feasible.

We have performed high-resolution spectroscopy of quantum degenerate gases of bosonic and fermionic ytterbium atoms using ultra-narrow intercombination transitions to probe quantum properties of the gases. The mean field interaction of the Bose-Einstein condensation and the energy distribution characteristic of the Fermi degeneracy were observed in the spectra.

We present a high-power and narrow-linewidth laser for intercombination magneto-optical trapping of ytterbium (Yb) atoms using the 6s(2) S-1(0)-6s6p P-3(1) transition. The system generates 415 mW of continuous wave laser radiation at 556 nm with a linewidth of less than 100 kHz. It is based on a commercial 1W fiber laser with a frequency doubling stage. Up to 58% frequency doubling efficiency is obtained at an input power of 0.5W by using a lithium triborate crystal as a nonlinear medium. The system has been successfully used for laser cooling of Yb atoms.