Few Atom Detection and Manipulation Using Optical Nanofibres

We study the coupling of spontaneously emitted photons from lasercooled Rb atoms to the guided modes of an optical nanofibre to demonstrate the potential such fibres offer as tools for detecting and manipulating cold atoms, even when the number of atoms is very small. We also demonstrate the integration of an optical nanofibre into an absorption spectroscopy setup, showcasing the ability of the evanescent field around nanofibres to interact with atoms in close proximity to the fibre. In principle, trapping of single atoms in engineered optical potentials on the surface of the fibre should facilitate entanglement between distant atoms mediated via the guided modes of the nanofibre.