title: Cold-atom physics using ultrathin optical fibers: light-induced dipole forces and surface interactions.
abstract: The strong evanescent field around ultrathin unclad optical fibers bears a high potential for detecting, trapping, and manipulating cold atoms. Introducing such a fiber into a cold-atom cloud, we investigate the interaction of a small number of cold cesium atoms with the guided fiber mode and with the fiber surface. Using high resolution spectroscopy, we observe and analyze light-induced dipole forces, van der Waals interaction, and a significant enhancement of the spontaneous emission rate of the atoms. The latter can be assigned to the modification of the vacuum modes by the fiber.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Angewandte Physik, Universität Bonn, Wegelerstr. 8, 53115 Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sagué
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vetsch
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Alt
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Meschede
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rauschenbeutel