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Physical Review A

Trap loss in a metastable helium-rubidium magneto-optical trap

L. J. Byron, R. G. Dall, Andrew G. Truscott

Published Jan 6, 2010• 12 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We present results of the study of a simultaneously confined metastable helium (He${}^{*}$) and rubidium magneto-optical trap (MOT). By monitoring the trap decay of the $^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ MOT with and without a He${}^{*}$ MOT present, we find the light-assisted, two-body loss rate to be ${\ensuremath{\beta}}_{\mathrm{Rb}--{\mathrm{He}}^{*}}=(6\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}2)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}10} {\mathrm{cm}}^{3}/\mathrm{s}$. Moreover, we find that it is possible to create a large, robust $^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$-He${}^{*}$ MOT, opening the possibility of creating a $^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$-He${}^{*}$ Bose-Einstein condensate. This would be the first dual-species condensate incorporating an alkali metal ground-state atom and an excited-state noble gas atom.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.81.013405

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This dissertation presents the findings of two experimental investigations in ultracold atomic and molecular physics: The study of the dual species trap loss in a rubidium - metastable argon magneto-optical trap and the photoassociative spectroscopy of ultracold metastable argon. The interspecies trap loss rate coefficients have been measured for ultracold collisions between 85Rb and 40Ar* in a dual-species magneto-optical trap (MOT) and the two rates have been found to be approximately equal over the range of intensities studied with values of β'Rb–Ar* = 3.0 ± 1.3 × 10-11 cm3/s and β'Ar*–Rb = 1.9 ± 0.9 × 10-11 cm3/s where β' Rb–Ar* is the trap loss coefficient for Rb in the presence of Ar* and β'Ar*–Rb is the reciprocal term. In addition, the trap loss rate coefficient for cold collisions in a metastable argon MOT alone have been measured with an average value of β Ar* = 5.2 ± 1.6 × 10-10 cm3/s. Using a quadrupole mass spectrometer, the production of Ar +, Ar+2, Rb+, and RbAr+ ions in the dual MOT have been observed, clearly identifying heteronuclear Penning and associative ionization as trap loss mechanisms. In the second experiment, the first ever investigation of the photoassociative (PA) spectroscopy of Ar* has been made. The exploratory study focuses on PA spectroscopy near the 4s[3/2]2 + 4p[5/2]3 asymptote of the Ar2* diatomic molecule over a 10 GHz range red detuned of the atomic resonance. With a range of probe laser intensities from ∼ 102–105ISat, 12 resonances have been observed. The spectra have been analyzed using the near-dissociation LeRoy-Bernstein method. Through this analysis, the spectra seem to best correlate with excitations to the 5g state.

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We present results of the study of a simultaneously confined metastable helium (He∗{}^{*}∗) and rubidium magneto-optical trap (MOT). By monitoring the trap decay of the 87Rb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb MOT with and without a He∗{}^{*}∗ MOT present, we find the light-assisted, two-body loss rate to be \ensuremathβRb−−He∗=(6\ifmmode±\else\textpm\fi2)\ifmmode×\else\texttimes\fi10\ensuremath−10cm3/s{\ensuremath{\beta}}_{\mathrm{Rb}--{\mathrm{He}}^{*}}=(6\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}2)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}10} {\mathrm{cm}}^{3}/\mathrm{s}\ensuremathβRb−−He∗​=(6\ifmmode±\else\textpm\fi2)\ifmmode×\else\texttimes\fi10\ensuremath−10cm3/s. Moreover, we find that it is possible to create a large, robust 87Rb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb-He∗{}^{*}∗ MOT, opening the possibility of creating a 87Rb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb-He∗{}^{*}∗ Bose-Einstein condensate. This would be the first dual-species condensate incorporating an alkali metal ground-state atom and an excited-state noble gas atom.
We have simultaneously confined rubidium and metastable argon in a dual-species magneto-optical trap (MOT). Here a binary mixture of atomic species from different groups of the periodic table have been optically confined at ultracold temperatures. We describe the apparatus and characterize the individual, single species MOTs and the dual-species MOT. Both fluorescence and ion production are monitored. With both species trapped, we observe $\ensuremath{\sim}5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{6}$ 85Rb{}^{85}\mathrm{Rb}85Rb atoms and $\ensuremath{\sim}2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{6}$ 40Ar∗{}^{40}{\mathrm{Ar}}^{*}40Ar∗ atoms. Realization of the dual-species trap opens the way for detailed studies of Penning and associative ionization, photoassociative spectroscopy, and eventually for the production of bound, ultracold RbAr molecules.
The first simultaneous cooling and confinement of two different atomic species from opposite sides of the periodic table in a dual magneto optical trap (DMOT) has been accomplished. The alkali-metal 85Rb and the noble gas 40Ar* have been simultaneously confined, characterized, and interspecies interaction parameters have been measured. The DMOT confined 1.2 × 106 85Rb atoms at a density of 1 × 1010/cm3 and 1.4 × 106 40Ar* atoms with a density of 1.2 × 1010/cm3. A collisional loss rate coefficient for Rb-Ar* has been determined to be γRb-Ar, = (4.8 ± 1.6) × 10−11cm3/s. A typical reduction of 3% of the florescence of the trapped 85Rb was observed when the 40Ar* trap was present. The loss of atoms from the dual trap is presumed to be caused by radiative escape and ionization losses, for an 40Ar* MOT it is due to Penning and associative ionization losses. An Ar* PI/AI ionization ratio of 6.7 ± 3.6 was determined, which makes the Penning ionization rate the dominant loss mechanism. The ionization rate was obtained with a SRS RGA200 mass spectrum analyzer specifically modified to work in conjunction with an ion optical field plate setup to collect the ions expelled from the MOT. The 85Rb was trapped with a 780 nm diode laser while the 40Ar* was slowed and trapped with a 811 nm Ti:sapphire laser, which was specifically modified to be locked to within 1 MHz of the atomic transition with a linewidth of ∼1 MHz. The metastable state 40Ar* was produced with a rf driven resonating cavity discharge which produced an atomic beam with an angular flux density of 4 × 1014 atoms s−1 sr−1.
We have constructed a magneto-optical trap (MOT) for metastable triplet helium atoms utilizing the $2{}^{3}{S}_{1}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}3{}^{3}{P}_{2}$ line at 389 nm as the trapping and cooling transition. The far-red-detuned MOT (detuning $\ensuremath{\Delta}=\ensuremath{-}41\mathrm{MHz})$ typically contains few times 107{10}^{7}107 atoms at a relatively high $(\ensuremath{\sim}{10}^{9}{\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}3})$ density, which is a consequence of the large momentum transfer per photon at 389 nm and a small two-body loss rate coefficient $(2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}10}{\mathrm{cm}}^{3}/\mathrm{s}<\ensuremath{\beta}<1.0\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}9}{\mathrm{cm}}^{3}/\mathrm{s}).$ The two-body loss rate is more than five times smaller than in a MOT on the commonly used $2{}^{3}{S}_{1}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}2{}^{3}{P}_{2}$ line at 1083 nm. Furthermore, laser cooling at 389 nm results in temperatures somewhat lower than those achieved using 1083 nm. The 389-nm MOT exhibits small losses due to two-photon ionization, which have been investigated as well.
We report on the realization of an ultracold (<25 μK) mixture of rubidium (87Rb) and metastable triplet helium (4He) in an optical dipole trap. Our scheme involves laser cooling in a dual-species magneto-optical trap, simultaneous MW- and RF-induced forced evaporative cooling in a quadrupole magnetic trap, and transfer to a single-beam optical dipole trap. We observe long trapping lifetimes for the doubly spin-stretched spin-state mixture and measure much shorter lifetimes for other spin-state combinations. We discuss prospects for realizing quantum degenerate mixtures of alkali-metal and metastable helium atoms.
We have investigated trap loss in a dual-species magneto-optical trap (MOT) comprised of 85Rb^{85}\mathrm{Rb}85Rb and metastable 40Ar^{40}\mathrm{Ar}40Ar. We measure the trap loss rate coefficients for each species due to the presence of the other as a function of trap light intensity. We clearly identify both Penning ionization of Rb by Ar∗{\mathrm{Ar}}^{*}Ar∗ and associative ionization to form the molecular ion RbAr+\mathrm{Rb}{\mathrm{Ar}}^{+}RbAr+ as two of the trap loss channels. We have also measured the trap loss rate coefficient for the Ar∗{\mathrm{Ar}}^{*}Ar∗ MOT alone and observe production of Ar+{\mathrm{Ar}}^{+}Ar+ and Ar2+\mathrm{Ar}_{2}{}^{+}Ar2​+ ions.
This dissertation presents the findings of two experimental investigations in ultracold atomic and molecular physics: The study of the dual species trap loss in a rubidium - metastable argon magneto-optical trap and the photoassociative spectroscopy of ultracold metastable argon. The interspecies trap loss rate coefficients have been measured for ultracold collisions between 85Rb and 40Ar* in a dual-species magneto-optical trap (MOT) and the two rates have been found to be approximately equal over the range of intensities studied with values of β'Rb–Ar* = 3.0 ± 1.3 × 10-11 cm3/s and β'Ar*–Rb = 1.9 ± 0.9 × 10-11 cm3/s where β' Rb–Ar* is the trap loss coefficient for Rb in the presence of Ar* and β'Ar*–Rb is the reciprocal term. In addition, the trap loss rate coefficient for cold collisions in a metastable argon MOT alone have been measured with an average value of β Ar* = 5.2 ± 1.6 × 10-10 cm3/s. Using a quadrupole mass spectrometer, the production of Ar +, Ar+2, Rb+, and RbAr+ ions in the dual MOT have been observed, clearly identifying heteronuclear Penning and associative ionization as trap loss mechanisms. In the second experiment, the first ever investigation of the photoassociative (PA) spectroscopy of Ar* has been made. The exploratory study focuses on PA spectroscopy near the 4s[3/2]2 + 4p[5/2]3 asymptote of the Ar2* diatomic molecule over a 10 GHz range red detuned of the atomic resonance. With a range of probe laser intensities from ∼ 102–105ISat, 12 resonances have been observed. The spectra have been analyzed using the near-dissociation LeRoy-Bernstein method. Through this analysis, the spectra seem to best correlate with excitations to the 5g state.