arXiv:1011.4372 · Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics
Runaway evaporation for optically dressed atoms
David Wilkowski
Abstract
Forced evaporative cooling in a far-off-resonance optical dipole trap is proved to be an efficient method to produce fermionic- or bosonic-degenerated gases. However, in most of the experiments, the reduction of the potential height occurs with a diminution of the collision elastic rate. Taking advantage of a long-living excited state, like in two-electron atoms, I propose a new scheme, based on an optical knife, where the forced evaporation can be driven independently of the trap confinement. In this context, the runaway regime might be achieved leading to a substantial improvement of the cooling efficiency. The comparison with the different methods for the forced evaporation is discussed in the presence or absence of three-body recombination losses.