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Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Pacific Rim (CLEO-PR)

A magneto-optical trap for chromium atoms

Tilman Pfau, S. Hensler, J. Stühler, Piet O. Schmidt, A.S. Bell, S. Locher, J. Mlynek

Published Jan 20, 2003• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Summary form only given. We present our results on the realization of a magneto-optical trap (MOT) for chromium atoms with repumpers on two intercombination lines. The high magnetic moment (6 Bohr magneton) and the isotopic composition of chromium are promising for investigation of collective quantum statistical effects in ultracold Bose- and Fermi gases in steep magnetic traps. Chromium is also interesting in view of its applications in atom lithography.

DOI
10.1109/cleopr.1999.817742

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Summary form only given. We present our results on the realization of a magneto-optical trap (MOT) for chromium atoms with repumpers on two intercombination lines. The high magnetic moment (6 Bohr magneton) and the isotopic composition of chromium are promising for investigation of collective quantum statistical effects in ultracold Bose- and Fermi gases in steep magnetic traps. Chromium is also interesting in view of its applications in atom lithography.
We have constructed a magneto-optical trap for chromium atoms. Using trapping light at 425 nm and two repumping lasers tuned to intercombination transitions, over 106{10}^{6}106 atoms were trapped and average densities of over ${10}^{16}{\mathrm{m}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}3}$ were obtained. Nonexponential loss of atoms is observed at high densities indicating inelastic collisions between trapped atoms. Over a range of trapping conditions, the density-dependent trap loss rate constant \ensuremath{\beta} is extracted from fluorescence decay curves and found to have values in the range of ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}15}{\mathrm{m}}^{3}{\mathrm{}\mathrm{s}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1},$ much larger than is observed in alkali-metal traps.
We have realized a scheme for continuous loading of a magnetic trap (MT). 52Cr{}^{52}\mathrm{Cr}52Cr atoms are continuously captured and cooled in a magneto-optical trap (MOT). Optical pumping to a metastable state decouples atoms from the cooling light. Due to their high magnetic moment $(6 {\ensuremath{\mu}}_{B}),$ low-field seeking metastable atoms are trapped in the magnetic quadrupole field provided by the MOT. Limited by inelastic collisions between atoms in the MOT and in the MT, we load 108{10}^{8}108 metastable atoms at a rate of 108{10}^{8}108 atoms/s below $100 \ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{K}$ into the MT. Optical repumping after the loading allows us to realize a MT of ground-state chromium atoms.
We report on magneto-optical trapping of fermionic 53Cr^{53}\mathrm{Cr}53Cr atoms. A Zeeman-slowed atomic beam provides loading rates up to $3\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{6}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}{\mathrm{s}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$. We present systematic characterization of the magneto-optical trap (MOT). We obtain up to $5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{5}$ atoms in the steady-state MOT. The atoms radiatively decay from the excited PPP state into metastable DDD states, and, due to the large dipolar magnetic moment of chromium atoms in these states, they can remain magnetically trapped in the quadrupole field gradient of the MOT. We study the accumulation of metastable 53Cr^{53}\mathrm{Cr}53Cr atoms in this magnetic trap. We also report on the simultaneous magneto-optical trapping of bosonic 52Cr^{52}\mathrm{Cr}52Cr and fermionic 53Cr^{53}\mathrm{Cr}53Cr atoms. Finally, we characterize the light-assisted collision losses in this Bose-Fermi cold mixture.