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Journal of the Optical Society of America

Cooling, trapping, and storage of atoms by resonant laser fields

Vladilen S Letokhov, Vladimir G. Minogin

Published Mar 1, 1979• 18 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Analysis of the possiblity of cooling, trapping, and storage of atoms in the resonant field of a laser standing wave is presented. Under certain regimes of frequency scanning the laser radiation can cool atoms in low-pressure gas to the temperature T ≃ 10−4−10−3 K. Because of gradient force effects, cooled atoms will be held in the light field for a long time. Joint cooling and storage of atoms in a resonant light field is important for spectroscopic studies with an extremely high sensitivity and resolution.

DOI
10.1364/josa.69.000413

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Analysis of the possiblity of cooling, trapping, and storage of atoms in the resonant field of a laser standing wave is presented. Under certain regimes of frequency scanning the laser radiation can cool atoms in low-pressure gas to the temperature T ≃ 10−4−10−3 K. Because of gradient force effects, cooled atoms will be held in the light field for a long time. Joint cooling and storage of atoms in a resonant light field is important for spectroscopic studies with an extremely high sensitivity and resolution.
The present state of research on the cooling of atomic ensembles by means of laser radiation pressure is discussed. First the basic theory of resonance radiation pressure is reviewed. The effect of recoil on the drift and fluctuations of the momentum of an atom interacting with resonance radiation is examined. There is an analysis of the forces acting on an atom in some simple light fields: a traveling plane wave, a Gaussian beam, and counterpropagating Gaussian beams. The review then focuses on the monochromatization of atoms by resonance radiation pressure and related methods for laser cooling of atoms. The roles played by the radiation pressure force and by momentum diffusion in shaping the narrow velocity distributions of the ensemble of atoms are analyzed. The lowest temperature obtainable in the radiation cooling of atoms is estimated. The basic experimental methods for laser cooling of atomic beams are described. Problems of the three-dimensional cooling of atomic ensembles and problems of localizing cold atoms in light fields, steady-state magnetic fields, and electrostatic fields are discussed. The review concludes with a discussion of some applications of cold atoms in high-precision spectroscopy, frequency standards, and atomic physics.
We have investigated the localization of atoms in two configurations of laser fields: monochromatic and bichromatic standing waves. A quasi resonant monochromatic laser field creates a spatially periodic potential field with period equal to half of the wavelength. If the atomic kinetic energy is less than the height of the potential wells then atoms could be trapped in the wells. The motion of atoms in a standing wave is governed by the gradient force, friction force, and momentum diffusion. We studied one dimensional localization of sodium atoms in such a standing wave, as well as the influence of friction and diffusion on the motion of these atoms. The effect of accumulation of atoms at the bottom of potential wells (nodes of a standing wave) was observed. This leads to a new scheme of laser cooling of atoms with a minimum temperature below the Doppler limit.
The process of laser cooling in a quasi resonant standing laser wave is one of the principal techniques of laser cooling of free atoms. It will be shown that the nonlinear interaction between the counter propagating waves in a standing wave have a profound affect on the mechanical manifestations of the light on the atoms. This can be understood simply by noting that in the Two Wave Mixing (TWM) process, a momentum kick of 2ℏk is transferred to the atom, as a photon is absorbed from one wave and emitted into the counter propagating wave. This process is in fact responsible for the so called "Dipole force" Or "Stimulated Molasses" and has been verified experimentally!. However, since the TWM process requires high laser intensity under normal conditions it does not usually lead to lower equilibrium temperatures. Nevertheless, It has been shown that the TWM process can be modified when the normal decay rates of the atom are altered. This modification can give rise to the appearance of the TWM at lower intensity and can even change its lineshape. This in turn have an important implications on the laser cooling process in a standing wave. Among the important effects: (i) The appearance of the stimulated force at lower intensity when the dipole decay rate is increased by dephasing events.(ii) The appearance of a narrow resonance characterized by the ground state decay in an open system. (iii) The modification of the stimulated force when the quantum fluctuations of the vacuum field are modified by quadrature squeezing3. Processes (ii) and (iii) can change the sign of the stimulated force from a heating force to a cooling force at the red side of the atomic resonance and give additional cooling force much larger than the radiation pressure force.