Super-resolution microscopy of atomic wavefunctions in an optical lattice

Super-resolution microscopy has revolutionized the fields of chemistry and biology by resolving features at the molecular level. In atomic physics, such a scheme can be applied to reveal the atomic wavefunction and to perform quantum control. Here we demonstrate super-resolution imaging based on nonlinear response of atoms to an optical pumping pulse [1]. With this technique the atomic density distribution can be imaged with a half-width-at-half-maximum resolution of 16(2) nm and a localization precision below 500 pm. The short optical pumping pulse of 1.4 microsecond enables us to resolve fast atomic dynamics within a single lattice site. A byproduct of our scheme is the emergence of moiré patterns on the atomic cloud, which we show to be immensely magnified images of the atomic density in the lattice.

Reference:
[1] Super-resolution microscopy of cold atoms in an optical lattice
Mickey McDonald, Jonathan Trisnadi, Kai-Xuan Yao, Cheng Chin
Physical Review X 9, 021001 (2019)