Controlling atomic motion: From single particle classical mechanics to many body quantum dynamics

This dissertation covers a series of experiments designed to control atomic motion. The experiments progress from being completely classical in nature to being described by many-body quantum mechanical models. The first experiment involves an experimental realization of a billiard using cold atoms and dipole potentials. The experiment was performed in a regime where the dynamics of the system were completely classical in nature. By adjustments of the shape of the billiard, it was demonstrated that the atomic motion within the billiard could be made stable and predictable or chaotic thereby allowing ergodic mixing. The subsequent experiment demonstrated the ability to control the center of mass motion of a collection of atoms without any a priori knowledge of the system. A minimally nondestructive method based on the quantum interaction of the atoms with a light field was used to measure the collective speed of the atoms. This information was utilized as a feedback signal to load the atoms into a co-moving trap that was subsequently brought to rest in the laboratory frame. Finally, Bose-Einstein condensation in one and two dimensions has been performed. This will allow for the experimental realization of the quantum tweezer for atoms. In this system, a Bose-Einstein condensate is used as a reservoir to extract single atoms. Taking advantage of the coherence properties of the condensate as well as the mean field interaction of atoms within the tweezer, single atoms can be extracted with unit probability into the ground state of a dipole trap.