Abstract

Early studies in quantum mechanics predict a counter intuitive oscillatory behaviour for particles in periodic potentials when submitted to static forces. Such phenomena, known as Bloch Oscillations (BO), have been observed only in the last two decades, having since been demonstrated in many different physical systems such as electrons in superlattices, cold atoms in optical lattices and photons in photonic crystals. In the present work we theoretically develop a new system to explore the BO phenomena using neutral atoms trapped in accelerated adsorption potentials. We show that particles bound to a surface by the surface-normal van der Waals potential and having energy bands due to the 2D-periodic potential related to the corrugation of the surface, fulfill the requirements for one to explore behaviours of quantum transport, probing Bloch oscillations or doing Wannier-Stark spectroscopy.

© 2007 IEEE