| Cold atomic systems in optical and magnetic potentials have been demonstrated as one of the most powerful tools for the investigation of quantum behaviour in various model potentials, such as periodic potentials, reduced dimensionality potentials thanks to strong radial confinement, disordered potentials, and other more complex geometries. Precise knowledge of the model Hamiltonian, manipulation of its coupling constants, possibility of working with controllable disorder are some of the great advantages of atomic systems in optical potentials which make them ideal tools for the realization of quantum models. The combination of optical potentials with magnetic and electrostatic fields varying on the scale of an optical wavelength opens even wider perspectives. The integration of cold atomic sources and electromagnetic field sources in the same device is a major frontier both for fundamental science and advanced technology. We intend to push forward this frontier by realizing new tools where cold atomic species will be brought at sub-micron distances to the surface of nano-structured optical materials. The use of nano-structured optical materials with a wide variety of optical mechanical and electrical properties (wide band optical transmission, optical gain, nonlinearity ferroelectricity, pyroelectricity, electroopticity, photorefractivity) will open up a wealth of new possibilities by permitting the true integration of optical circuits on the so called "atom chip". In addition, the versatility of these materials will enable us to apply new manipulation techniques such as using optical evanescent wave interactions. We will then connect the world of ultra-cold atoms to that of photonic devices offering the possibility of realizing quantum models on demand. |
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