Enhanced cooling of hydrogen by alkali-metal atoms

M. T. Bouazza, Lamia Reggami, Moncef Bouledroua

Andrei Derevianko, Robin Côté, A. Dalgarno +1 more

We consider the possibility of enhanced cooling of hydrogen atoms by a buffer gas of alkali-metal atoms Na, K, Rb, and Cs. Ultracold elastic collision cross sections for the Na-H and Rb-H purely spin-polarized pairs are found to be 640 and 860 times larger than that for the H-H pair, respectively. From an analysis of the techniques of production of ultracold sodium and rubidium samples, it seems feasible that the critical conditions for Bose-Einstein condensation of hydrogen could be achieved already at the stage of optical cooling of the sodium or rubidium buffer gas.

Isaac F. Silvera, Jook T. M. Walraven

A. Hatakeyama

Light-induced atom desorption (LIAD) of alkali-metal atoms in alkali-metal vapor cells can be used to quickly increase the vapor density. It is particularly useful as a source for laser-cooled atoms. We review the studies of LIAD for alkali-metal atoms, with particular attention to its application to laser cooling experiments. We show clear differences in LIAD properties for quartz and Pyrex substrates, which are widely used materials in laser-cooling cells.

Eugeny Korsunsky, Laurentius Windholz

Gregory P. Kochanski