Lifetimes of atoms trapped in an optical lattice in proximity of a surface

Sophie Pelisson, Riccardo Messina, Marie-Christine Angonin, Peter Wolf

Published 2013-04-23, updated 2013-06-27Version 2

We study the lifetime of an atom trapped in an optical vertical lattice in proximity of a massive surface using a complex scaling approach. We analyze how the presence of the surface modifies the known lifetimes of Wannier-Stark states associated to Landau-Zener tunnelling. We also investigate how the existence of a hypothetical short-distance deviation from Newton's gravitational law could affect these lifetimes. Our study is relevant in order to discuss the feasibility of any atomic- interferometry experiment performed near a surface. Finally, the difficulties encountered in applying the complex-scaling approach to the atom-surface Casimir-Polder interaction are addressed.