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Light-induced, fictitious magnetic trapping of cold alkali-metal atoms using an optical-tweezer–nanofiber hybrid platform

Alexey Vylegzhanin*, Dylan J. Brown†, Sergei Abdrakhmanov, and Síle Nic Chormaic‡

  • *Contact author: alexey.vylegzhanin@oist.jp
  • †Present address: Centre for Cold Matter, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2BW, United Kingdom.
  • ‡Contact author: sile.nicchormaic@oist.jp
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Phys. Rev. A 113, 023111 – Published 13 February, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/z98d-5svb

Abstract

We present a magnetic trapping scheme for cold Rb87 atoms based on light-induced fictitious magnetic fields generated by the evanescent field of an optical nanofiber (ONF) integrated with optical tweezers. We calculate and compare the trapping potentials for both Gaussian and Laguerre-Gaussian modes of the tweezer beam, combined with a quasilinearly polarized ONF-guided field. Based on the optical powers in the tweezer and ONF modes, we analyze the trap depths and the positions of the potential minima from the nanofiber surface. We show that, by varying the optical powers in the two fields, the trap position can be tuned over several hundred nanometers while simultaneously influencing the trap depth and trap frequencies. Such control over the atom-surface position is essential for studying distance-dependent effects on atoms trapped near a dielectric surface and optimizing atom-photon interfaces for quantum technology applications.

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Phys. Rev. A 113, 023111– Published 13 February, 2026
  • Received 21 April 2025
  • Revised 20 November 2025
  • Accepted 21 January 2026
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