Title
Characterization of laser cooling in a high-magnetic-field atom trap
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2012
Department/School
Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
We describe cooling and trapping of both 85Rb and 87Rb in a range of magnetic fields up to 2.6 T. Atoms are injected from a low-field pyramidal magneto-optical trap and recaptured in a high-magnetic-field atom trap. The atoms are cooled and trapped by a six-beam optical molasses via the 5S1/2∣∣mI,mJ= 1/2⟩→ 5P3/2∣∣mI,mJ= 3/2⟩ transition (mI= 5/2 for 85Rb and mI= 3/2 for 87Rb). We study the trap fluorescence spectra, atom temperatures, density distributions, and lifetimes as a function of magnetic field and detuning parameters. The trap fluorescence spectra are both narrow and asymmetric, as is characteristic for laser cooling of atoms in an external trapping potential. The trap is modeled using a Monte Carlo trajectory simulation technique.
Link to Published Version
Recommended Citation
Paradis, E., Zigo, S., Hu, K. Z., & Raithel, G. (2012). Characterization of laser cooling in a high-magnetic-field atom trap. Physical Review A, 86(2), 23416. doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.86.023416