Lossless polarization gradient cooling of 4×10787Rb atoms in a far-detuned 2D optical lattice is demonstrated. Temperatures down to 1μK and phase space densities as high as 1 / 1000 are achieved in a total duty cycle of 215ms. It is shown that utilizing the vector component of the optical lattice allows lower temperatures to be achieved when compared with pure scalar lattices.
Lossless polarization gradient cooling of 4×10787Rb atoms in a far-detuned 2D optical lattice is demonstrated. Temperatures down to 1μK and phase space densities as high as 1 / 1000 are achieved in a total duty cycle of 215ms. It is shown that utilizing the vector component of the optical lattice allows lower temperatures to be achieved when compared with pure scalar lattices.
We develop a simple and practical scheme to apply sideband cooling to a cloud of rubidium atoms. A sample containing 4 × 10 70 87 Rb is trapped in a far red detuned optical lattice. Through optimizing the relevant parameters, i.e., laser detuning, magnetic field, polarization, and duration time, a temperature around 1.5 μK and phase space density close to 1/500 are achieved. Compared with polarization gradient cooling, the temperature decreases by around one order of magnitude. This technique could be used in high precision measurement such as atomic clocks and atom interferometer. It could also serve as a precooling means before evaporation cooling in a dipole trap, and may be a promising method of achieving quantum degeneracy with purely optical means.
We report a way to overcome heating due to the reabsorption of scattered light when relatively many atoms are laser cooled at high density. A sample of $8\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{7}\mathrm{Cs}$ atoms, with $6\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{11}{\mathrm{atoms}\mathrm{}\mathrm{cm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}3},$ is loaded into a deep far-detuned one-dimensional optical lattice, which acts as a large volume three-dimensional (3D) trap. Polarization gradient cooling with a separate set of cooling beams is found to work well in this trap, populating the trap's vibrational ground state with more than half the atoms. After cooling, the lattice is shut off adiabatically, leaving a still dense sample at 1.2 \ensuremath{\mu}K. We propose and demonstrate a generalization to a 3D lattice, which will allow many more atoms to be loaded into conservative light traps, and can greatly increase the initial phase-space density for loading magnetic traps.
Sideband laser cooling using stimulated Raman transitions is performed on trapped cesium atoms. The confinement is produced by a far–off-resonance dipole trap consisting of two crossed YAG beams which, by interference, create a one-dimensional optical lattice. In a pure intensity lattice, we measure a 1D temperature of T = 6 μK corresponding to a mean quantum vibrational number of about nv = 0.75. In a polarization gradient lattice, the final temperature is T = 3.6 μK corresponding to nv 2.4.
Sideband laser cooling using stimulated Raman transitions is performed on trapped cesium atoms. The confinement is produced by a far–off-resonance dipole trap consisting of two crossed YAG beams which, by interference, create a one-dimensional optical lattice. In a pure intensity lattice, we measure a 1D temperature of T = 6 μK corresponding to a mean quantum vibrational number of about ⟨ n v ⟩ = 0.75. In a polarization gradient lattice, the final temperature is T = 3.6 μK corresponding to ⟨ n v ⟩ ≃ 2.4.
We laser cool $5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{7}$ Cs atoms to a spin-polarized phase space density of 1/30, the highest ever obtained by laser cooling. It is achieved by compression and polarization gradient cooling in a 3D far-off-resonant optical lattice, followed by 3D Raman sideband cooling optimized at a density of $1.5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{12}\mathrm{atoms}/{\mathrm{cm}}^{3}$, and adiabatic release. In the lattice, 23 of the sites are occupied, 95 of the atoms are in the lowest energy magnetic sublevel, and 37 are in the lowest 3D vibrational state.
An innovative and practical scheme of building far-detuned optical lattice for 87Rb atoms is proposed.The disposals of aligning the lattice beams,tuning the lattice frequency and controlling the tapered amplifier for output are described in detail.Alignment of optical lattices is quite difficult in principle,for several beams are required to hit the same atomic cloud.For the relatively near-detuned one-and two-dimensional lattices,the coarse alignment is accomplished by tuning the lattice laser onto resonance with the magnetic-optic trap(MOT) frequency,and then blowing away the MOT in real time.A more precision alignment is implemented at the end of the MOT loading,the atoms are first pumped into the lower hyperfine level by turning off the repumping for some time;then,the pulsed lattice beams are turned on for a short time at some reasonably large detuning.Finally,a fluorescent image of the MOT is taken without repumping,in order to detect only those atoms which are repumped by the lattice laser.For the purpose of controlling the detuning of the lattice easily and accurately,a home-made grating wavemeter with a resolution better than 1 GHz is used.This way allows the laser to be locked at any frequency by using a software PID and is experimentally simple to implement.The intensity of the lattice is controlled directly by pulsing the current through the tapered amplifier using a function generator and a laser diode driver.This technique has already been demonstrated before by Prof.M.Kasevich's group at Stanford. Our experiment starts with a MOT capturing approximately 4107 atoms in 200 ms.The lattice loading is overlap with the end of polarization gradient cooling(PGC),after that,the molasses laser beams are extinguished, and the adiabatic expansion is accomplished in the same time by a decrease in the lattice light intensity according to release function.On the basis of MOT and PGC,the dependences of atomic loading on such parameters as the intensity and frequency detuning of optical lattice are investigated experimentally.The vibration frequency is measured by intentionally modulating the trap intensity.Experimental results show that the lattice structure facilitates the cooling with the temperature of atoms cloud being reduced to 1/3 compared with free space polarization gradient cooling.The system design,experimental results and conclusions are of definite significance and can serve as a fine reference for other kinds of lattices designs or alkali atomic plans.