Dynamics of ultracold atoms in optical potentials

textIn this dissertation, we discuss the manipulation of ultracold atoms with optical fields. We show how a one-way barrier for ground state atoms may be constructed. Its use for phase space compression is analyzed. Using several ideas from solid-state physics, we reveal a number of novel phenomena in quantum transport of ultracold atoms in two-dimensional optical lattices. These include Berry phase, self-rotation, spin-orbit coupling, and discrete solitons. Finally, we analyze in detail an approach to extract a small and deterministic number of atoms from a trapped Bose condensed gas by the introduction of an optical quantum dot. We show how small numbers of atoms in microtraps can be used for quantum state engineering.Physic