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Physical Review A

Precision velocimetry in a thermal atomic beam by stimulated optical Compton scattering

F. Chi, Matthew J. Partlow, H. Metcalf

Published Sep 1, 2001• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We have demonstrated that Raman transitions between adjacent momentum states of ground-state atoms can be used for velocimetry. We report measurements of the transverse velocity distribution of atoms in a beam with a thermal longitudinal velocity. The atomic density was 100 times lower than atoms released from a magneto-optical trap, and the resolution was a few recoils, under conditions where the usual geometric measurement would have been 100 times worse.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.64.043407

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We have demonstrated that Raman transitions between adjacent momentum states of ground-state atoms can be used for velocimetry. We report measurements of the transverse velocity distribution of atoms in a beam with a thermal longitudinal velocity. The atomic density was 100 times lower than atoms released from a magneto-optical trap, and the resolution was a few recoils, under conditions where the usual geometric measurement would have been 100 times worse.
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In this paper we report on the first purely ``pump-probe'' nonlinear laser spectroscopy results in a slow atomic beam. We have observed Raman, Rayleigh, and recoil-induced resonances (RIR) in a continuous beam of slow and cold cesium atoms extracted from a two-dimensional (2D) magneto-optical-trap (MOT) with the moving molasses technique. The RIR enabled us to measure the velocity distribution, therefore the average speed (0.6--4 m/s) and temperature (50--500 \ensuremath{\mu}K) of the atomic beam. Compared to time of flight, this technique has the advantage of being local, more sensitive in the low-velocity regime (v<1m/s),(v<1 \mathrm{m}/\mathrm{s}),(v<1m/s), and it gives access to transverse velocities and temperatures. Moreover, it may be extended to measure atomic velocities in the 2D MOT source of the atomic beam.
The transverse velocity distribution of a sodium atomic beam, laser cooled in one dimension, has been measured with sub-recoil resolution. A velocity-selective detection system was employed to separate the longitudinal and transverse velocity components to provide a direct measure of the transverse velocity distribution. The effects of varying the cooling laser intensity and detuning on the derived transverse temperature are presented, and show a remarkable insensitivity to the laser intensity. Atomic velocities within a factor of two of the recoil velocity are
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We measure the transverse velocity distribution in a thermal Sr atomic beam precisely by velocity-selective saturated fluorescence spectroscopy. The use of an ultrastable laser system and the narrow intercombination transition line of Sr atoms mean that the resolution of the measured velocity can reach 0.13 m/s, corresponding to 90 μK in energy units. The experimental results are in very good agreement with the results of theoretical calculations. Based on the spectroscopic techniques used here, the absolute frequency of the intercombination transition of 88Sr is measured using an optical-frequency comb generator referenced to the SI second through an H maser, and is given as 434 829 121 318(10) kHz.