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Physical Review Letters

Subrecoil Laser Cooling with Adiabatic Transfer

Tilman Esslinger, F. Sander, Matthias Weidemüller, Andreas Hemmerich, Theodor W. Hänsch

Published Apr 1, 1996• 56 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We demonstrate subrecoil cooling of rubidium atoms by velocity-selective coherent population trapping. By adiabatic transfer of the cooled atoms into a spin polarized single momentum state we show the coherence of the trapped state. Our cooling scheme takes advantage of the rubidium hyperfine structure to integrate subrecoil and sub-Doppler cooling. Starting from an initial velocity distribution of twice the recoil temperature $[{T}_{\mathrm{rec}}\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}(\ensuremath{\Elzxh}k{)}^{2}{/k}_{B}M]$, we cool down to 100 nK $(\ensuremath{\approx}\frac{1}{3}{T}_{\mathrm{rec}})$ within 1 ms, while almost completely suppressing the diffusive heating of velocity-selective coherent population trapping.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.76.2432

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Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference•May 22, 1995•0 citations
We demonstrate subrecoil cooling of rubidium atoms by velocity-selective coherent population trapping. By adiabatic transfer of the cooled atoms into a spin polarized single momentum state we show the coherence of the trapped state. Our cooling scheme takes advantage of the rubidium hyperfine structure to integrate subrecoil and sub-Doppler cooling. Starting from an initial velocity distribution of twice the recoil temperature [Trec=(\ensuremath\Elzxhk)2/kBM][{T}_{\mathrm{rec}}\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}(\ensuremath{\Elzxh}k{)}^{2}{/k}_{B}M][Trec​=(\ensuremath\Elzxhk)2/kB​M], we cool down to 100 nK (\ensuremath≈13Trec)(\ensuremath{\approx}\frac{1}{3}{T}_{\mathrm{rec}})(\ensuremath≈31​Trec​) within 1 ms, while almost completely suppressing the diffusive heating of velocity-selective coherent population trapping.
We report the first observation of subrecoil laser cooling in two dimensions by velocity selective coherent population trapping. We have compressed the momentum distribution of a cloud of trapped metastable helium atoms along two orthogonal axes to $\ensuremath{\delta}p=\frac{\ensuremath{\hbar}k}{4}$, where $\ensuremath{\hbar}k$ is the photon momentum. The corresponding temperature, 16 times below the single-photon recoil temperature, is 250 nK. Atoms are pumped into a nonabsorbing state exhibiting four well-resolved momentum peaks with subrecoil widths. The momentum space density in the peaks is significantly greater than that in the uncooled distribution.
We report the first observation of subrecoil laser cooling in three dimensions, where we use the method of velocity-selective coherent population trapping. We have cooled a cloud of trapped metastable helium atoms to 180 nK, 22 times below the single-photon recoil temperature, with an enhancement in the momentum-space density of 16. We find that the efficiency with which the velocity-selective trap is populated can be augmented by Sisyphus-type frictional forces, while the cooling process is accompanied by the diffusion of atoms to states of very high velocity.
We use laser induced adiabatic passage to coherently manipulate the atomic wave packets resulting from subrecoil laser cooling in one, two, and three dimensions by velocity selective coherent population trapping. Using metastable helium atoms, we demonstrate adiabatic transfer into a single wave packet or into two coherent wave packets, while retaining the subrecoil momentum dispersion of the initial wave packets. The efficiency of the transfer is nearly perfect in one and two dimensions, and of the order of 75% in three dimensions. To a large extent, the direction of the momentum and the internal state of the atoms described by each of the final wave packets can be chosen at will.
We have theoretically studied a one-dimensional light field configuration which combines velocity-selective coherent-population trapping with the action of a novel kind of sub-Doppler force providing efficient cooling below the recoil limit. The force is based on velocity-induced non-adiabatic passage of atomic population from the non-coupling state to the light-shifted coupling state. We show for 87Rb that within 0.88 ms 35% of an initial distribution of 12k width can be cooled into a 0.5k momentum interval, and that more than 90% of the initial distribution are still confined to 12k width.