All-optical 3D atomic loops generated with Bessel light fields

The propagation invariance of Bessel beams as well as their transversal structure is used to perform a comparative analysis of their effect on cold atoms for four different configurations and combinations thereof. We show that, even at temperatures for which the classical description of the atom's centre-of-mass motion is valid, the interchange of momentum, energy and orbital angular momentum between light and atoms yields efficient tools for all-optical trapping, transporting and, in general, manipulating the state of motion of cold atoms.