QUASI-PERIODIC OPTICAL LATTICES

We study the kinetic temperature and the localization of cesium atoms in a three dimensional quasiperiodic optical potential created by the interference of five or six laser beams. Bragg scattering experiments show evidence of a quasiperiodic order for the atomic density. Tempera ture measurements are consistent with the topological invariance of th e optical potential under phase variations of the laser beams. Numeric al semiclassical Monte Carlo simulations show results in reasonable ag reement with the experimental observations.