Fast atom transport and launching in a nonrigid trap

Abstract

We study the shuttling of an atom in a trap with controllable position and frequency. Using invariant-based inverse engineering, protocols in which the trap is simultaneously displaced and expanded are proposed to speed up transport between stationary trap locations as well as launching processes with narrow final-velocity distributions. Depending on the physical constraints imposed, either simultaneous or sequential approaches may be faster. We consider first a perfectly harmonic trap, and then extend the treatment to generic traps. Finally, we apply this general framework to a double-well potential to separate different motional states with different launching velocities.