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CRC Press eBooks

Laser Cooling of Atoms

David R. Lide

Published Feb 6, 2018• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The concept of radiation-pressure cooling of atoms was independently suggested in 1975 for the case of a gas of neutral atoms by Hansch and Schawlow, and for atomic ions bound in an electromagnetic trap by Wineland and Dehmelt. While the notion that momentum exchange from a photon moving in the opposite direction could slow an individual atom was well understood, until this time no one had come up with a means for producing an aggregate cooling of a larger ensemble of atoms (a gas). The general feature of the cooling concepts is that a gas of atoms or ions can be cooled by ensuring that photon absorption takes place preferentially when the atoms or ions are moving against the flow of photons from a laser. A unique aspect of the ion-cooling work has been the ability to do experiments with individual atoms.

DOI
10.1201/9781351069397-56

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The concept of radiation-pressure cooling of atoms was independently suggested in 1975 for the case of a gas of neutral atoms by Hansch and Schawlow, and for atomic ions bound in an electromagnetic trap by Wineland and Dehmelt. While the notion that momentum exchange from a photon moving in the opposite direction could slow an individual atom was well understood, until this time no one had come up with a means for producing an aggregate cooling of a larger ensemble of atoms (a gas). The general feature of the cooling concepts is that a gas of atoms or ions can be cooled by ensuring that photon absorption takes place preferentially when the atoms or ions are moving against the flow of photons from a laser. A unique aspect of the ion-cooling work has been the ability to do experiments with individual atoms.
The concept of radiation-pressure cooling of atoms was independently suggested in 1975 for the case of a gas of neutral atoms by Hänsch and Schawlow, and for atomic ions bound in an electromagnetic trap by Wineland and Dehmelt. While the notion that momentum exchange from a photon moving in the opposite direction could slow an individual atom was well understood, until this time no one had come up with a means for producing an aggregate cooling of a larger ensemble of atoms (a gas). If all atoms in a hot gas absorb photons, then some will be heated and some cooled, and the ensuing equilibrium temperature is not lowered. The general feature of the cooling concepts is that a gas of atoms or ions can be cooled by ensuring that photon absorption takes place preferentially when the atoms or
Abstract One of the most remarkable achievements of laser control is the manipulation of atomic particles, their velocities, positions, etc., which is referred to as laser cooling and laser trapping . These two effects are interrelated and usually prove effective when used jointly. That this is so one can see by considering as an example the laser cooling of trapped ions and the laser trapping of laser-cooled neutral atoms (Fig. 5.1). The sequences of processes in these two situations are directly opposite. Ions can easily be trapped in an electromagnetic trap of large depth (Paul 1990) and then be cooled for a long time by laser radiation (sideband cooling) (Wineland and Dehmelt 1975; Dehmelt 1990). Neutral atoms are first slowed down and cooled by laser radiation down to millikelvin temperatures, and only then confined in an optical trap. Trapped atoms can further be cooled to microkelvin temperatures. The present chapter and Chapter 6 consider the cooling and trapping of neutral atoms, the present chapter concentrating on their cooling, and Chapter 6 on trapping. But it would be reasonable first to familiarize the reader with the history of the early ideas in this field that eventually led to the advent of a new domain of physics—the physics of ultracold atoms and molecules (Chapters 7 and 8).
The interaction of laser radiation with matter is widely used to cool atomic and molecular gases to extremely low temperatures. In connection with this, a considerable number of works on quantum optics have recently been devoted to laser cooling of matter. The principle of Doppler cooling for neutral atoms was proposed by T. Nanch and A. Shavlov, and for trapped ions by D. Wineland and H. Dehmelt. The chapter shows the scheme of the principle of Doppler cooling. The atomic beam is slowed by transmission of a pulse that occurs at the time when the atom absorbs a quantum of light. When laser cooling of atoms in a certain volume, a problem arises with optical pumping. The scheme of cooling an atomic beam by laser radiation in a magnetic field, called the Zeeman slowing, is most often used to obtain slow atomic beams.
When an atom or a molecule interacts with a light beam, the light emitted or absorbed carries valuable information about the atomic or molecular structure. This phenomenon underlies the whole field of spectroscopy. But the interaction of a photon with an atom can be used to manipulate the atom as well as to probe its structure. For example, in an approach called optical pumping, invented by Alfred Kastler, one can use the resonant exchange of angular momentum between atoms and polarized photons to align or orient the spins of atoms or to put them in nonequilibrium situations. In his original 1950 paper Kastler also proposed using optical pumping to cool and to heat the internal degrees of freedom, calling the phenomena the “effet luminofrigorique” and the “effet luminocalorique.” Another famous example of the use of photon-atom interaction to control atoms is laser cooling. This technique relies on resonant exchange of linear momentum between photons and atoms to control their external degrees of freedom and thus to reduce their kinetic energy. Laser cooling was suggested independently by Theodor Hänsch and Arthur Schawlow for neutral atoms and by David Wineland and Hans Dehmelt for trapped ions. In an article written three years ago for PHYSICS TODAY (June 1987, page 34), Wineland and Wayne Itano presented the principle of laser cooling and the potential applications of cold atoms to fields of physics such as ultrahigh resolution spectroscopy, atomic clocks, collisions, surface physics and collective quantum effects. At that time laser cooling had brought temperatures down to a few hundred microkelvin, but unexpected improvements during the last three years have dramatically lowered those temperatures to only a few microkelvin. We now feel we understand the new physical mechanisms responsible for these very low temperatures.
Techniques to slowand t rap neutral atoms at high d ensities with r adiative forces are discussed in this review article. It isshown that the radiative force on an atomic system has two components, one coming from the rnomentum transferred from the photon to the atom and the other resul ting f rom the interaction of the transi t ion d i po 1 e mo- ment with the radiation field gradient. Among several methods of laser cooling, we emphasize Zeeman tuning of the electronic l evels and fre- quency-sweeping techniques. Trapping of neutral atoms is ano ther i n- teresting subject discussed in this review. We present recent resul ts obtained in light and magnetic traps. Finally, techniques to f urther c001 atoms inside traps a re presented and the future of laser cool i ng of neutral atoms by means of radiation pressure is discussed.
The present state of research on the cooling of atomic ensembles by means of laser radiation pressure is discussed. First the basic theory of resonance radiation pressure is reviewed. The effect of recoil on the drift and fluctuations of the momentum of an atom interacting with resonance radiation is examined. There is an analysis of the forces acting on an atom in some simple light fields: a traveling plane wave, a Gaussian beam, and counterpropagating Gaussian beams. The review then focuses on the monochromatization of atoms by resonance radiation pressure and related methods for laser cooling of atoms. The roles played by the radiation pressure force and by momentum diffusion in shaping the narrow velocity distributions of the ensemble of atoms are analyzed. The lowest temperature obtainable in the radiation cooling of atoms is estimated. The basic experimental methods for laser cooling of atomic beams are described. Problems of the three-dimensional cooling of atomic ensembles and problems of localizing cold atoms in light fields, steady-state magnetic fields, and electrostatic fields are discussed. The review concludes with a discussion of some applications of cold atoms in high-precision spectroscopy, frequency standards, and atomic physics.