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Joint Conference of the European Frequency and Time Forum and IEEE International Frequency Control Symposium (EFTF/IFCS)

Sub-Doppler cooling with the 1S0-1P1 line in ytterbium

Nikita Kostylev, Eugene N. Ivanov, Michael Edmund Tobar, John J. McFerran

Published May 1, 2014• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We have studied the temperatures of several neutral Yb isotopes in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) using the1S0-1P1transition at 398.9 nm. We use a compact MOT with a titanium vacuum chamber and a high degree of othogonality between the beams. Minimum temperatures of 170 μK and 80 μK are recorded for171Yb, and173Yb, respectively, while 0.95 mK is measured for172Yb. By comparison the 1D Doppler cooling temperature limit is 694 μK. The results augur well for future lattice clocks that use Yb. We comment on the significance of sub-Doppler cooling of atoms with ground-state total angular momentum F =1/2, as is the case for171Yb.

DOI
10.1109/fcs.2014.6859900

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Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics•Jan 1, 2005•0 citations
We have studied the temperatures of several neutral Yb isotopes in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) using the1S0-1P1transition at 398.9 nm. We use a compact MOT with a titanium vacuum chamber and a high degree of othogonality between the beams. Minimum temperatures of 170 μK and 80 μK are recorded for171Yb, and173Yb, respectively, while 0.95 mK is measured for172Yb. By comparison the 1D Doppler cooling temperature limit is 694 μK. The results augur well for future lattice clocks that use Yb. We comment on the significance of sub-Doppler cooling of atoms with ground-state total angular momentum F =1/2, as is the case for171Yb.
We report on the sub-Doppler laser cooling of neutral Yb171 and Yb173 in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) using the S10−P11 transition at 398.9 nm. We use two independent means to estimate the temperature of the atomic cloud for several of the Yb isotopes. The two methods of MOT cloud imaging and release-and-recapture show consistency with one another. Temperatures below 400 and 200 μK are recorded for Yb171 and Yb173, respectively, while ∼1 mK is measured for both Yb172 and Yb174. By comparison, the associated one-dimensional Doppler cooling temperature limit is 694 μK. The sub-Doppler cooling of the I=1/2Yb171 isotope in a σ+−σ− light-field trap adds further evidence that the Sisyphus cooling mechanism is occurring in such three-dimensional MOTs.
We report experimental evidence of Sisyphus cooling in atoms with a 1S0{}^{1}{S}_{0}1S0​ ground state. Since J=0,J=0,J=0, any cooling mechanism which requires multiple sublevels can only occur in the isotopes which have nuclear spin $I\ensuremath{\ne}0.$ Ytterbium has seven stable isotopes and offers a unique system in which we can study cooling on $F=\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{0}1$ (168,170,172,174,176Yb),{(}^{168,170,172,174,176}\mathrm{Yb}),(168,170,172,174,176Yb), $F=1/\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{2}3/2$ (171Yb),{(}^{171}\mathrm{Yb}),(171Yb), and $F=5/\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{2}7/2$ (173Yb),{(}^{173}\mathrm{Yb}),(173Yb), depending on the selection of isotope. We have trapped each of the seven stable isotopes of ytterbium in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) using the strong ${}^{1}{S}_{0}{\ensuremath{-}}^{1}{P}_{1}$ transition, and transferred them into a second MOT which uses the much narrower ${}^{1}{S}_{0}{\ensuremath{-}}^{3}{P}_{1}$ intercombination transition. We have measured the temperature of isotopes 171Yb,{}^{171}\mathrm{Yb},171Yb, 173Yb,{}^{173}\mathrm{Yb},173Yb, and 174Yb{}^{174}\mathrm{Yb}174Yb in the ${}^{1}{S}_{0}{\ensuremath{-}}^{3}{P}_{1}$ MOT, as a function of the intensity and detuning of the trapping laser. The temperature of 174Yb{}^{174}\mathrm{Yb}174Yb was found to increase more rapidly with intensity than predicted by Doppler cooling theory, in agreement with earlier work on alkaline-earth atoms. In the odd isotopes the temperature was found to decrease with increasing angular momentum, as observed in earlier experiments and three-dimensional simulations.
We present a detailed investigation of strontium magneto-optical trap (MOT) dynamics. Relevant physical quantities in the trap, such as temperature, atom number and density, and loss channels and lifetime, are explored with respect to various trap parameters. By studying the oscillatory response of a two-level 1S0–1P1 88Sr MOT, we firmly establish the laser cooling dynamics predicted by Doppler theory. Measurements of the MOT temperature, however, deviate severely from Doppler theory predictions, implying significant additional heating mechanisms. To explore the feasibility of attaining quantum degenerate alkaline-earth samples via evaporative cooling, we also present the first experimental demonstration of magnetically trapped metastable 88Sr. Furthermore, motivated by the goal of establishing the fermionic isotope 87Sr as one of the highest-quality, neutral-atom-based optical frequency standards, we present a preliminary study of sub-Doppler cooling in a 87Sr MOT. A dual-isotope (87Sr and 88Sr) MOT is also demonstrated.
Laser cooling and trapping of neutral mercury is performed in a single-stage (1)S(0)↔(3)P(1) 3D magneto-optical trap. We give a detailed account of the atom cloud size and temperature for both bosonic ((200)Hg and (202)Hg) and fermionic ((199)Hg and (201)Hg) isotopes. The bosonic isotope temperatures are in close agreement with Doppler cooling theory, while temperatures obtained for the fermionic isotopes are lower, suggesting the presence of sub-Doppler cooling. A minimum temperature of 29±4 μK is achieved for (201)Hg.
We report the realization of ytterbium magneto-optical trap (MOT) operating on the dipole-allowed 1 S 0 — 1 P 1 transition at 398.9 nm. The MOT is loaded by a slowed atomic beam produced by a Zeeman slower. All seven stable isotopes of Yb atoms could be trapped separately at different laser detuning values. Over 10 7 174 Yb atoms are collected in the MOT, whereas the atom number of fermionic isotope 171 Yb is roughly 2.3 × 10 6 due to a lower abundance. Without the Zeeman slower, the trapped atom numbers are one order of magnitude lower. Both the even and odd isotopes are recognized as excellent candidates of optical clock transition, so the cooling and trapping of ytterbium atoms by the blue MOT is an important step for building an optical clock.
This work has focused on two atoms, Sr and Yb, due in part to the relatively high abundance of their odd isotopes, the use of which is necessary for appreciable direct excitation probability. The Sr clock transition has been measured (with an uncertainty of 20 kHz) using atoms in a magneto-optic trap (MOT), and has been excited with atoms confined in a one dimensional lattice. Here we report direct excitation of the Yb clock transition (at 578 nm) with atoms in a second-stage MOT, and the first fs-laser comb-based absolute measurements of the clock frequency for two different isotopes. These measurements lead to a nearly millionfold improvement in our knowledge of the transition frequencies, an important step toward Doppler-free spectroscopy of Yb atoms in a lattice.