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arXiv:1303.7057 · Europhysics Letters (EPL)

Continuous beam of laser-cooled Yb atoms

Ketan D. Rathod, Alok K. Singh, Vasant Natarajan A

Published May 1, 2013• 6 citations
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Abstract

We demonstrate the launching of laser-cooled Yb atoms in a continuous atomic beam. The continuous cold beam has significant advantages over the more-common pulsed fountain, which was also demonstrated by us recently. The cold beam is formed in the following steps: i) atoms from a thermal beam are first Zeeman-slowed to a small final velocity; ii) the slowed atoms are captured in a two-dimensional magneto-optic trap (2D-MOT); and iii) atoms are launched continuously in the vertical direction using two sets of moving-molasses beams, inclined at ±15° to the vertical. The cooling transition used is the strongly allowed transition at 399 nm. We capture about 7 × 10 6 atoms in the 2D-MOT, and then launch them with a vertical velocity of 13 m/s at a longitudinal temperature of 125(6) mK.

DOI
10.1209/0295-5075/102/43001

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We demonstrate the launching of laser-cooled Yb atoms in a continuous atomic beam. The continuous cold beam has significant advantages over the more-common pulsed fountain, which was also demonstrated by us recently. The cold beam is formed in the following steps: i) atoms from a thermal beam are first Zeeman-slowed to a small final velocity; ii) the slowed atoms are captured in a two-dimensional magneto-optic trap (2D-MOT); and iii) atoms are launched continuously in the vertical direction using two sets of moving-molasses beams, inclined at ±15° to the vertical. The cooling transition used is the strongly allowed transition at 399 nm. We capture about 7 × 10 6 atoms in the 2D-MOT, and then launch them with a vertical velocity of 13 m/s at a longitudinal temperature of 125(6) mK.
We demonstrate launching of laser-cooled Yb atoms in a continuous atomic beam. The continuous cold beam has significant advantages over the more-common pulsed fountain, which was also demonstrated by us recently. The cold beam is formed in the following steps---(i) Atoms from a thermal beam are first Zeeman slowed to a small final velocity, (ii) the slowed atoms are captured in a two-dimensional magneto-optic trap (2D-MOT), and (iii) atoms are launched {\em continuously} in the vertical direction using two sets of moving-molasses beams, inclined at ±15∘\pm 15^\circ±15∘ to the vertical. The cooling transition used is the strongly-allowed 1S0→1P1{^1S}_0 \rightarrow {^1P}_11S0​→1P1​ transition at 399 nm. We capture about 7×1067 \times 10^67×106 atoms in the 2D-MOT, and then launch them with a vertical velocity of 13 m/s at a longitudinal temperature of 125(6) mK.
We demonstrate launching of laser-cooled Yb atoms in a cold atomic fountain. Atoms in a collimated thermal beam are first cooled and captured in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) operating on the strongly allowed ${{}^{1}S}_{0}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{{}^{1}P}_{1}$ transition at 399 nm (blue line). They are then transferred to a MOT on the weakly allowed ${{}^{1}S}_{0}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{{}^{3}P}_{1}$ transition at 556 nm (green line). Cold atoms from the green MOT are launched against gravity at a velocity of around 2.5 m/s using a pair of green beams. We trap more than 107{10}^{7}107 atoms in the blue MOT and transfer up to 7070%70 into the green MOT. The temperature for the odd isotope 171Yb^{171}\mathrm{Yb}171Yb is  1mK~1 \mathrm{mK} 1mK in the blue MOT, and reduces by a factor of 40 in the green MOT.
To achieve a primary frequency standard based on a continuous fountain of laser cooled cesium atoms, we report on the production of a bright, slow and cold continuous atomic beam. Atoms are cooled from a thermal vapor in a 45/spl deg/ laser geometry and launched directly from the optical molasses by the moving molasses technique. The effects of the source fluorescence on the continuous beam (average velocity, temperature and flux) have been observed, and ways to optimize simultaneously the atomic capture and the continuous beam are presented. Flux measurements rise to 2/spl times/10/sup 8/ at/s from a 2D magneto-optical trap at 7 m/s. The initial velocity is easily tunable from 1 to 10 m/s. If the longitudinal temperature is about 70 /spl mu/K, additional transverse cooling even reduces the transverse temperature in one dimension below 30 /spl mu/K. By extrapolating the obtained atomic flux to the continuous fountain under construction, we expect a short-term stability of 7/spl times/10/sup -14//spl tau//sup -1/2/. Other applications of continuous beams of cold atoms are suggested.
By the moving molasses technique we have extracted laser-cooled cesium atoms in a continuous way directly from an optical molasses. The mean launching velocity is precisely tunable from 1 to 12 m/s. The atomic beam has a flux of $1.3\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{8} \mathrm{a}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{m}/\mathrm{s}$ at 7 m/s and a longitudinal temperature of $70 \ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{K},$ which represents the highest flux and lowest velocity spread obtained so far in a continuous beam of cold atoms. These features makes it well suited for atomic fountains. The atomic flux can be slightly increased in a two-dimensional magneto-optical trap operation (+40(+40%).(+40 A simple model accounts for the observed dependence of the flux with the magnetic-field gradient.
A continuous beam of cold atoms is considered as an alternative to improve the performance of caesium frequency standards. A two-dimensional magneto-optical trap (2D MOT) is outlined. The assembling of three counter-propagating circularly polarised laser beams and of two magnetic field gradients along the horizontal axes leads to a transverse cooling and trapping, whereas in the vertical z-direction the atoms are only cooled and not trapped because of the zero magnetic field in this direction. In order to predict the characteristics of the beam of cold atoms, a simulation of the atomic trajectories was carried out by using a two-dimensional model of Doppler cooling and magneto-optical trapping. The velocity distribution of the atoms, which, due to the trapping and cooling process, enter the zone, where they are launched, is calculated.
We demonstrate experimentally the continuous and pulsed loading of a slow and cold atomic beam into a magnetic guide. The slow beam is produced using a vapor loaded laser trap, which ensures two-dimensional magneto-optical trapping, as well as cooling by a moving molasses along the third direction. It provides a continuous flux larger than 10910^9109 atoms/s with an adjustable mean velocity ranging from 0.3 to 3 m/s, and with longitudinal and transverse temperatures smaller than 100μ100 \mu100μK. Up to 31083 10^83108 atoms/s are injected into the magnetic guide and subsequently guided over a distance of 40 cm.