APS Four Corners Section Meeting Abstracts
Laser collimation of an atomic gallium beam
Steven J. Rehse, Karen M. Bockel, S. A. Lee
Abstract
The linear-perpendicular-linear polarization gradient technique was used for investigating laser collimation of a gallium atomic beam in one dimension. The full angular divergence of the atomic beam was reduced to 0.3 mrad by operating on a particular electron transition at 294.45 nm. The transverse velocity of the atoms was reduced to 11 cm/s, which was about half of the Doppler cooling limit. The one-dimensional kinetic energy of atoms was reduced to 6 neV. The transition state exhibited optical pumping of the atoms by the cooling laser.