Ultracold gases present new opportunities to control and influence matter waves by clever manipulation of the trapping potential. For example, one
can create beautifully ordered vortex lattices in a Bose-Einstein condensate by magnetic or optical "stirring" of the superfluid. In our laboratory at Georgia
Tech we have used Bragg scattering to study these lattices, and have focused on the spatial profile of the diffracted atoms, which offers a new window into
condensate physics. In addition to the mechanical forces, magnetic fields can also profoundly affect the wavefunction "simply" by coupling to the
spin. We present a novel experimental realization of this coupling (and its rather dramatic consequences) using an "optically plugged" quadrupole trap (OPT)
for sodium BECs.
10 Minute Talk: Diode lasers for trapping and cooling ytterbium