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AIP conference proceedings

Continuous stopping and trapping of neutral atoms

Gregory P. Lafyatis, V. S. Baganato, Alexander G. Martin, Kristian Helmerson, David E. Pritchard

Published Jan 1, 1988• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We are now able to hold billions of laser cooled sodium atoms for minutes in a magnetic neutral trap. Physics experiments that might be done in this type of trap are outlined. The trap itself is described and results which characterize the loading and trapping of the atoms are presented. Finally, we report very recent work in which R. F. transitions between magnetic hyperfine levels have been driven.

DOI
10.1063/1.37374

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We are now able to hold billions of laser cooled sodium atoms for minutes in a magnetic neutral trap. Physics experiments that might be done in this type of trap are outlined. The trap itself is described and results which characterize the loading and trapping of the atoms are presented. Finally, we report very recent work in which R. F. transitions between magnetic hyperfine levels have been driven.
Neutral sodium atoms have been continuously loaded into a 0.1-K-deep superconducting magnetic trap with laser light used to slow and stop them. At least 1 \ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{} 109{10}^{9}109 atoms were trapped with a decay time of 2\textonehalf{} min. The fluorescence of the trapped atoms was studied as a function of time; possible loss mechanisms from the trap are discussed.
We have continuously stopped thermal sodium atoms with laser light and loaded them into a 0.1-K deep superconducting magnetic trap. The trap is formed by a local minimum of the magnetic field produced by two superconducting coils and a radially confining octupole field. The atoms are slowed and stopped in two stages: The atoms are first slowed to ~200 m/s using a counterpropagating resonant laser beam and tapered magnetic field to compensate for the changing Doppler shift as the atoms are slowed.1 A second laser beam and tapered magnetic field, actually located within the trap, are used to stop the atoms in the trap. This continuous loading process has allowed us to accumulate up to 1 × 109 trapped atoms, and trapping times of several minutes have been achieved. Our trap has the feature of having a uniform magnetic field at its bottom, opening up the possibility of precision spectroscopy of the trapped atoms. The fluorescence from the trapped atoms has been studied, and they have been cooled to ~1 mK using 1-D optical molasses.