Experiments with Supersonic Beams as a Source of Cold Atoms
Experiments with Supersonic Beams as a Source of Cold Atoms
Experiments with Supersonic Beams as a Source of Cold Atoms
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experiment, where a being is capable <strong>of</strong> observing the motion <strong>of</strong> each particle in an<br />
ensemble and, using these observations, is able to reduce the entropy <strong>of</strong> the ensemble<br />
<strong>with</strong> doing work on it, apparently violating the Second Law <strong>of</strong> Thermodynamics. The<br />
cl<strong>as</strong>sic example <strong>of</strong> this is a trap door, operated by the observer, which separates two<br />
chambers <strong>of</strong> g<strong>as</strong>. If the observer opens the trap door when a particle approaches from<br />
the left side, but not the right, then the observer can create a one-way wall using the<br />
door, and atoms will accumulate in the chamber on the right. This incre<strong>as</strong>es the ph<strong>as</strong>e<br />
space density <strong>with</strong>out doing work. The resolution to this apparent paradox lies in the<br />
fact that information carries entropy. To operate the trap door, the observer must<br />
store information about the ensemble, which must eventually be er<strong>as</strong>ed, incre<strong>as</strong>ing<br />
the entropy <strong>of</strong> the universe in accordance <strong>with</strong> Landauer’s er<strong>as</strong>ure principle [136]. For<br />
single-photon cooling, the photon scattered each time an atom changes state provides<br />
information about that particular atom’s position in the trap, making a me<strong>as</strong>urement<br />
<strong>of</strong> the original state <strong>of</strong> the ensemble possible. In this manner, the entropy removed<br />
from the atomic ensemble is accounted for in the incre<strong>as</strong>ed entropy <strong>of</strong> the radiation<br />
field [133].<br />
A one-way wall for atoms h<strong>as</strong> been demonstrated for optically trapped rubid-<br />
ium, in analog to the situation illustrated in 5.25(a) [137]. This experiment com-<br />
pressed the sample, but due to the heating from spontaneous scattering, the ph<strong>as</strong>e<br />
space density <strong>of</strong> the sample w<strong>as</strong> only incre<strong>as</strong>ed by a factor <strong>of</strong> 1.07. A different scheme,<br />
in which rubidium atoms are transferred from a magnetic trap to a gravito-optical<br />
trap h<strong>as</strong> also been used for single-photon cooling [138, 139]. Using l<strong>as</strong>er excitation<br />
and spontaneous emission to affect the irreversible state change that creates the effect<br />
<strong>of</strong> a one-way wall, this method succeeded in incre<strong>as</strong>ing the ph<strong>as</strong>e space density <strong>of</strong> the<br />
trapped sample by a factor <strong>of</strong> 350. More details on these experiments can be found<br />
in [116, 140, 141].<br />
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