Europhysics Letters (EPL)

Observation of individual neutral atoms in magnetic and magneto-optical traps

D. Haubrich, Harald Schadwinkel, Frank Strauch, B. Ueberholz, R. Wynands, Dieter Meschede

Published Jun 20, 1996• 76 citations

Abstract

We have identified and photographed individual cesium atoms in a magneto-optical trap with steep magnetic gradients. By switching off the trapping light fields, single atoms were released to a bound state of the magnetic potential. A storage time of 38 s was measured for purely magnetic trapping, whereas a storage time of 147 s was observed in the corresponding magneto-optical trap.

DOI: 10.1209/epl/i1996-00512-5

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