Increased Dimensionality of Raman Cooling in a Slightly Nonorthogonal Optical Lattice

Abstract: We experimentally study the effect of a slight nonorthogonality in a two-dimensional optical lattice onto resolved-sideband Raman cooling. We find that when the trap frequencies of the two lattice directions are equal, the trap frequencies of the combined potential exhibit an avoided crossing and the corresponding eigenmodes are rotated by 45 degrees relative to the lattice beams. Hence, tuning the trap frequencies makes it possible to rotate the eigenmodes such that both eigenmodes have a large projection onto any desired direction in the lattice plane, in particular, onto the direction along which Raman cooling works. Using this, we achieve two-dimensional Raman ground-state cooling in a geometry where this would be impossible, if the eigenmodes were not rotated. Our experiment is performed with a single atom inside an optical resonator but this is inessential and the scheme is expected to work equally well in other situations.