title: Nonlinear dynamics of atoms in a crossed optical dipole trap.
abstract: We explore the classical dynamics of atoms in an optical dipole trap formed by two identical Gaussian beams propagating in perpendicular directions. The phase space is a mixture of regular and chaotic orbits, the latter becoming dominant as the energy of the atoms increases. The trapping capabilities of these perpendicular Gaussian beams are investigated by considering an atomic ensemble in free motion. After a sudden turn on of the dipole trap, a certain fraction of atoms in the ensemble remains trapped. The majority of these trapped atoms has energies larger than the escape channels, which can be explained by the existence of regular and chaotic orbits with very long escape times.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional, and Departamento de Física Atómica, Molecular y Nuclear, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain and The Hamburg Center for Ultrafast Imaging, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Rosario
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: González-Férez
authors.affiliation: Área de Física, Universidad de La Rioja, 26006 Logroño, La Rioja, Spain.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Iñarrea
authors.affiliation: Área de Física, Universidad de La Rioja, 26006 Logroño, La Rioja, Spain.
authors.forename: J Pablo
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Salas
authors.affiliation: The Hamburg Center for Ultrafast Imaging, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany and Zentrum für Optische Quantentechnologien, Universität Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schmelcher