Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics Letters
Laser cooling of 7Li atoms in a magneto-optical trap
Boris B. Zelener, Sergey A. Saakyan, Vladimir A. Sautenkov, A. M. Akulshin, Edward A. Manykin, B. V. Zelener, Vladimir Evgenievich Fortov
Abstract
A setup for laser cooling and confining of 7 Li atoms in a magneto-optical trap has been built. The possibility of cooling and trapping of 7 Li atoms in a wide range of frequency detuning of the cooling laser has been proved experimentally. Independent information on the density and number of ultracold 7 Li atoms on various ground-state sublevels, as well as on the temperature of the atoms, has been obtained with the use of a probing tunable laser. This information is important for preparing an ultracold plasma and Rydberg matter.