Abstract:
The combination of superconducting devices and ultracold atoms is a promising concept for the realization of a hybrid system for quantum information processing. Superconducting devices can be controlled very precisely which makes them favorable for the manipulation of quantum states while such states can be stored in ultracold atoms over comparably long timescales. The realization of such hybrid systems is a very challenging task. However, during the development process, various fundamental effects can be studied.
In this thesis, a new experimental setup is described. This setup consists of a dilution refrigerator for hybrid system experiments at mK-temperatures. The system has been characterized and optimized to allow for the trapping of ultracold atom clouds in a superconducting magnetic trap. Because of the severe modifications of the system compared to a standard setup, new methods have to be developed to achieve this.
Furthermore, experiments on atom chips with superconducting structures have been investigated. As a first step towards the coupling to a superconducting resonator structure, suitable structures have been developed. In numerical simulations, the loading and positioning of the atom cloud at this structure has been investigated.
The results of the numerical simulation are in good agreement with the trap positions that have been determined experimentally by the team-colleagues. In these experimental measurements, the coherence time of the atom cloud has been determined at several positions above the resonator structure.
In this thesis, the influence of the fluxoid quantization in a superconducting ring on an ultracold atom cloud has been investigated using numerical simulations. First measurements of the team-colleagues confirm the predicted effects. This allows the detection of a fundamental effect of superconductivity in a complex hybrid system.