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Ukrainian Journal of Physics

An Optical Trap for Atoms on the Basis of Counter-Propagating Bichromatic Light Waves

V. I. Romanenko, A. V. Romanenko, Леонід Петрович Яценко

Published Apr 25, 2016• 7 citations
Publisher

Abstract

It has been shown that the field of counter-propagating bichromatic light waves can form a one-dimension trap for atoms. The confinement of an ensemble of atoms in the trap and their simultaneous cooling to a temperature close to the Doppler cooling limit can be achieved without using auxiliary fields, by properly choosing the detuning of monochromatic components from the atomic transition frequency. The specific numerical simulation is carried out for sodium atoms. A possible application of such a trap for the confinement and the cooling of molecules with an almost diagonal array of Franck–Condon factors is discussed.

DOI
10.15407/ujpe61.04.0309

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It has been shown that the field of counter-propagating bichromatic light waves can form a one-dimension trap for atoms. The confinement of an ensemble of atoms in the trap and their simultaneous cooling to a temperature close to the Doppler cooling limit can be achieved without using auxiliary fields, by properly choosing the detuning of monochromatic components from the atomic transition frequency. The specific numerical simulation is carried out for sodium atoms. A possible application of such a trap for the confinement and the cooling of molecules with an almost diagonal array of Franck–Condon factors is discussed.
We discuss a possible one-dimensional trapping and cooling of atoms and molecules due to their nonresonant interaction with counterpropagating light pulse trains. The counterpropagating pulses form a one-dimensional trap for atoms and molecules and a properly chosen carrier frequency detuning from the transition frequency of the atoms or molecules keeps the temperature of the atomic or molecular ensemble close to the Doppler cooling limit. The calculation by the Monte Carlo wave-function method is carried out for the two-level and three-level schemes of the atom's and the molecule's interaction with the field, respectively. The models discussed are applicable to atoms and molecules with almost diagonal Frank-Condon factor arrays. Illustrative calculations are carried out for ensemble-averaged characteristics for sodium atoms and SrF molecules in the trap. The potential for the nanoparticle light pulses's trap formed by counterpropagating light pulse trains is also discussed.
The analysis of atomic motion in the field formed by sequences of counterpropagating light pulses reveals the conditions when the field creates the trap in which the temperature of trapped atoms drops to the Doppler limit. The atomic state is described by the wave function using the Monte Carlo wave function method, whereas the atomic motion is considered in the framework of classical mechanics. Laser cooling and trapping is achieved only for non-resonant atom–field interaction. The pulse area does not matter for this effect, in contrast to the repetition period. When the motion of a trapped atom is slowed down, it oscillates around the anti-nodes of a non-stationary standing wave formed by the counterpropagating light pulses at the point where they ‘collide’. The discussed trap is also applicable for trapping and cooling of the molecules for which the matrix of Frank–Condon factors is almost diagonal.
We have shown that, by properly detuning the carrier frequencies in each of two perpendicularly intersecting bichromatic waves from the atomic transition frequency, it is possible to create a two-dimensional trap for atoms, if the wave intensities are sufficiently high. At the zero and near-zero values of the initial wave phases, as well as at the phase shift between the intersecting waves equal to п or close to п values, the dynamic spatial patterns of atoms consisting of square cells with the side length equal to л/√2 are formed. Numerical simulations were carried out for sodium atoms.
We show that properly detuning the carrier frequency of each of the criss-cross bichromatic waves from the transition frequency of the atom, it is possible to form a two-dimensional trap for atoms if the intensity of the waves is sufficiently large. For zero and near zero initial phases of waves, and also for πππ and near πππ phase shift between criss-cross waves a dynamic spatial structure of square cells with the side λ/2λ/\sqrt{2}λ/2​ is formed. Numerical simulations are carried out for sodium atoms.
A new trap for atoms and small particles based on the interaction between an atom and the field of counter-propagating light pulses that are partially superposed in time has been proposed. A substantial difference from the known analogs consists in that the atom-field interaction is close to the adiabatic one, which allows a considerably higher momentum to be transferred to the atom within the same time interval and makes the trap smaller in size. It has been shown that, owing to the dependence of the light pressure force on the atom velocity, the atomic ensemble is cooled at its interaction with the field.
We consider a laser cooling and trapping of alkaline-earth and similar atoms in a bichromatic field resonant to a closed optical transition 1S0→ 1P1^1S_0 \to \, ^1P_11S0​→1P1​ or 1S0→ 3P1^1S_0 \to \, ^3P_11S0​→3P1​. It is shown that new kinetic effects emerge compared to monochromatic fields, enabling the formation of a deep macroscopic trap capable of capturing and cooling neutral atoms to sub-Doppler temperatures. Such a purely optical macroscopic trap can serve as an alternative to the well-known magneto-optical trap and can be used in applications requiring minimization of the magnetic field in the cold atom cloud region. The obtained results are of interest for the new generation of quantum sensors and optical frequency standards.