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Physical Review A

Simultaneous laser cooling of multiple atomic species using an optical frequency comb

Damir Aumiler, Ticijana Ban

Published Jun 20, 2012• 13 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We study Doppler cooling of atoms using a frequency comb and develop a theory to quantitatively describe the process by investigating the interaction of two-level atoms with two counterpropagating pulse trains. We derive the radiative force on atoms and show that each comb mode effectively acts as a cooling laser, thereby indicating that simultaneous laser cooling in multiple cooling channels can be achieved using a single-frequency comb source. Possible experimental applications involving alkali-metal atoms are illustrated.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.85.063412

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Hlađenje atoma optičkim frekventnim češljem

A. Cipris

In this thesis, cooling of 87Rb atoms using an optical frequency comb resulting from highly stabilized femtosecond laser radiation was studied. Cooling of atoms was obtained by driving 52S1/2 (F = 2) → 52P3/2 (F' = 3) first resonant electronic transition of 87Rb atom with the single frequency comb line. Temperature of the cold atoms was determined using the time of flight technique. Temperature measurements were performed for various polarization configurations of counter propagating femtosecond laser beams. Temperature dependence of magnetic field and time of interaction with femtosecond laser was also measured. Cooling down to sub-Doppler temperatures was observed, with lowest measured temperature of 66 μK. According to our knowledge, this represents first experimental realization of sub-Doppler temperatures using optical frequency comb. For comparation with standard laser cooling techniques based on continuous-wave lasers, measurements were repeated using continuous-wave laser instead frequency comb. Well agreed results confirmed possibility of frequency comb laser cooling of atoms. That opens up a number of new possibilities in laser cooling, such as laser cooling of atoms with first resonant transitions in ultraviolet/vacuum ultraviolet spectrum range, where continuous-wave radiation is unavailable.

•Jun 28, 2017•0 citations
We study Doppler cooling of atoms using a frequency comb and develop a theory to quantitatively describe the process by investigating the interaction of two-level atoms with two counterpropagating pulse trains. We derive the radiative force on atoms and show that each comb mode effectively acts as a cooling laser, thereby indicating that simultaneous laser cooling in multiple cooling channels can be achieved using a single-frequency comb source. Possible experimental applications involving alkali-metal atoms are illustrated.
We demonstrate 1D simultaneous laser cooling of 87Rb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb and 85Rb^{85}\mathrm{Rb}85Rb atoms using an optical frequency comb. By adjusting the pulse repetition frequency and the offset frequency, the frequency comb spectrum is tuned to ensure that two distinct frequency comb modes are simultaneously red-detuned from the cooling transitions, one mode for each species. Starting from a precooled cloud of 85,87Rb^{85,87}\mathrm{Rb}85,87Rb atoms at above-Doppler temperatures, we show simultaneous cooling of both species down to the Doppler temperature using two counter-propagating ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}^{+}$ and ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ polarized beams from the frequency comb. The results indicate that simultaneous dual-species frequency comb cooling does not affect the cooling characteristics of individual atomic species. The results of this work imply that several atomic species could be cooled simultaneously using a single frequency comb source. This comb-based multichannel laser cooling could bring significant advances in multispecies atom interferometers for space applications and in the study of multispecies interactions.
We explore the possibility of decelerating and Doppler cooling an ensemble of two-level atoms by a coherent train of short, nonoverlapping laser pulses. We derive analytical expressions for mechanical force exerted by the train. In frequency space the force pattern reflects the underlying frequency comb structure. The pattern depends strongly on the ratio of the atomic lifetime to the repetition time between the pulses and pulse area. For example, in the limit of short lifetimes, the frequency-space peaks of the optical force wash out. We propose to tune the carrier-envelope offset frequency to follow the Doppler-shifted detuning as atoms decelerate; this leads to compression of atomic velocity distribution about comb teeth and results in a ``velocity comb''---a series of narrow equidistant peaks in the velocity space.
We propose a method of stimulated laser cooling of diatomic molecules by counter-propagating πππ-trains of ultrashort laser pulses. The cooling cycles occur on the rovibrational transitions inside the same ground electronic manifold, thus avoiding the common problem of radiative branching in Doppler cooling of molecules. By matching the frequency comb spectrum of the pulse trains to spectrum of the R-branch rovibrational transitions we show that stimulated cooling can be carried out on several rovibrational transitions simultaneously, thereby increasing number of cooled molecules. The exerted optical force does not rely on the decay rates in a system and can be orders of magnitude larger than the typical values of scattering force obtained in conventional Doppler laser cooling schemes.
We report on laser cooling of neutral rubidium atoms by using a single mode of a frequency comb. Cooling is achieved on a dipole-allowed transition at 780 nm in a one-dimensional retro-reflected beam geometry. Temperatures are measured using standard time-of-flight imaging. We show the dependence of the temperature on the cooling time, intensity and detuning of the frequency comb. The lowest temperature achieved is approximately equal to the Doppler temperature and is limited by the intensity of the comb mode driving the cooling transition. Additionally, we verify the analogy between frequency comb and continuous-wave laser cooling. Our work is a step towards laser cooling of atoms with strong cycling transitions in the vacuum ultraviolet, such as hydrogen, deuterium and antihydrogen, where generation of continuous-wave laser light is limited by current laser technology. Achieving efficient cooling at these wavelengths would significantly improve the precision of optical frequency standards, enable measurements of fundamental constants with unprecedented accuracy, improve tests of charge, parity, and time reversal symmetry, and open the way to achieving quantum degeneracy width new atomic species.
Despite the prominent role of laser cooling in modern atomic physics, with applications ranging from quantum sensors to high-precision spectroscopy and ultracold chemistry, laser cooling techniques are still limited to atoms with simple energy level structure and closed transitions that are accessible by currently available continuous wave (cw) laser sources. Two main obstacles prevent the extension of laser cooling techniques to a variety of atomic species and molecules. The first is associated with technical difficulties in creating cw laser light in the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) spectral range - the absence of those laser sources prevents laser cooling of simple atoms such as hydrogen, deuterium, and antihydrogen. The second obstacle is associated with complex energy level structure of many atoms and almost all molecules - it permits decay of an excited state into a number of lower-lying states that can be widely separated in energy, which makes laser cooling of such species inefficient and experimentally very challenging.
In this thesis, cooling of 87Rb atoms using an optical frequency comb resulting from highly stabilized femtosecond laser radiation was studied. Cooling of atoms was obtained by driving 52S1/2 (F = 2) → 52P3/2 (F' = 3) first resonant electronic transition of 87Rb atom with the single frequency comb line. Temperature of the cold atoms was determined using the time of flight technique. Temperature measurements were performed for various polarization configurations of counter propagating femtosecond laser beams. Temperature dependence of magnetic field and time of interaction with femtosecond laser was also measured. Cooling down to sub-Doppler temperatures was observed, with lowest measured temperature of 66 μK. According to our knowledge, this represents first experimental realization of sub-Doppler temperatures using optical frequency comb. For comparation with standard laser cooling techniques based on continuous-wave lasers, measurements were repeated using continuous-wave laser instead frequency comb. Well agreed results confirmed possibility of frequency comb laser cooling of atoms. That opens up a number of new possibilities in laser cooling, such as laser cooling of atoms with first resonant transitions in ultraviolet/vacuum ultraviolet spectrum range, where continuous-wave radiation is unavailable.