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Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE

Heteronuclear cold collisions between lithium and sodium

L. Holler, Gerald Auböck, C. Binder, Laurentius Windholz, J. Szczepkowski, E. Paul-Kwiek

Published Jun 1, 2005• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

In the performed experiment we trap simultaneously in the Magneto-Optical Trap cold atoms of 7Li with cold sodium atoms and cold 6Li atoms with cold 23Na atoms. We investigated in detail heteronuclear interactions between cold isotopes of lithium atoms and cold sodium atoms in presence of the laser light.
DOI
10.1117/12.629495

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Storing and cooling simultaneously lithium and sodium atoms in a two-species magneto-optical trap, rate coefficients for collisions between these two atomic species were determined. The experiments were performed at different trap depths, thus for Li atoms the trap losses due to finestructure changing collisions could be distinguished from losses due to radiative escape. The rate coefficient for collisions between sodium and lithium atoms shows also a step when increasing the trap depth. The formation of cold heteronuclear molecules is claimed.
A two element magneto-optical trap (MOT) in standard configuration for Na and 7Li or 6Li is used to cool and trap Na and one Li isotope simultaneously or separately. The metal background vapor out of which the atoms are trapped comes from dispensers. The two atom clouds can be slightly shifted what makes it easy to overlap them. The number and density of the clouds were determined and the temperature measured roughly. The mutual influence of the clouds was investigated and turned out to be smaller than the noise. Preliminary experiments working towards the production of heteronuclear cold molecules by photoassociation were performed, showing the well known production of Na2 long- range molecules. Additionally, the photoionization cross- section was determined by ionizing cold atoms in the excited state by UV-laser light. The results are in reasonable agreement with data obtained elsewhere using synchrotron radiation.
A two element magneto-optical trap (MOT) in standard configuration for Na and 7Li or 6Li is used to cool and trap Na and one Li isotope simultaneously or separately. The metal background vapor out of which the atoms are trapped comes from dispensers. The two atom clouds can be slightly shifted what makes it easy to overlap them. The number and density of the clouds were determined and the temperature measured roughly. The mutual influence of the clouds was investigated and turned out to be smaller than the noise. Preliminary experiments working towards the production of heteronuclear cold molecules by photoassociation were performed, showing the well known production of Na2 long- range molecules. Additionally, the photoionization cross- section was determined by ionizing cold atoms in the excited state by UV-laser light. The results are in reasonable agreement with data obtained elsewhere using synchrotron radiation.© (2001) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
A cold atomic gas formed by two different species represents an intriguing system for a deeper understanding of atom-atom interactions at ultralow temperatures. We present experiments on a mixture of atomic lithium and cesium which are of particular interest regarding the formation of heteronuclear molecules on the one hand, and the prospects for sympathetic cooling of atomic gases through mutual thermalization on the other hand. A first series of experiments on interaction in presence of a near-resonant light field is performed in a two-species magneto-optical trap. The collisional properties of the lithium-cesium mixture are investigated through detailed analysis of trap-loss processes induced by the trap light. Photoassociation in an additional near-resonant laser field yields high-resolution spectra of the excited Cs_2 dimers, but shows no unambiguous indication of LiCs molecule formation. A second series of experiments on pure ground-state collisional properties utilizes an optical dipole trap formed by light that is detuned extremely far below atomic resonance (quasi-electrostatic trap). Storage times of many minutes are achieved in a particularly simple and versatile setup for both atomic species. Cooling of cesium through evaporation and thermalization by elastic collisions is observed. The evolution of temperature and particle number is compared with model simulations of evaporative cooling. Direct laser cooling of trapped cesium in the absolute energetic ground state is demonstrated. Homonuclear spin-changing collisions of ground-state cesium and lithium atoms are analyzed, and first evidence for pure ground-state collisions between atoms of different species is found. Based on the current achievements, prospects for future experiments are discussed. (orig.)
Summary form only given. All the experiments and theories describing atomic traps and cold collisions have considered only homonuclear systems. Cold collisions involving different atomic species open up new and exciting possibilities, including high-resolution studies of heteronuclear molecular band formation. We have carried out an experiment on the simultaneous magneto-optical trapping of two alkali atoms: Na and K. Collisional rate constant of trap loss resulting from cross atomic collisions was investigated through the transient loading of the trap.
We investigated heteronuclear inelastic cold collisions in a mixed-species Li–Na magneto-optical trap, where the Li trap loss from collisions with Na was measured. Experimental results for the rate coefficient β Na Li for the isotopes 6 Li as well as 7 Li as a function of the Li-MOT laser intensity are presented. Furthermore, we discuss some unique characteristics of cold collisions of Na and Li which arise from (1) the very small spin–orbit splitting of Li, (2) the very small C 6 coefficients of the Na(3 2 S) + Li(2 2 P) asymptotes and (3) the very small and inverted hyperfine structure of Li.