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Annual Meeting Optical Society of America

Zacharias atom fountain with laser-cooled sodium

M. Zhu, J. L. Hall

Published Jan 1, 1987• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The idea of Zacharias1 to use an atomic fountain for spectroscopy has attracted attention for many years. We note that in a laser-cooled sodium atomic beam prepared by using an optical frequency-sweeping technique, the atoms with upward transverse velocity can be used as an atomic fountain. The cooling scheme is basically the same as we used before.2 At the end of each frequency sweep for cooling, the atoms are optically pumped into the Zeeman level (F = 1, m F = 0) in the ground state.

DOI
10.1364/oam.1987.wu4

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The idea of Zacharias1 to use an atomic fountain for spectroscopy has attracted attention for many years. We note that in a laser-cooled sodium atomic beam prepared by using an optical frequency-sweeping technique, the atoms with upward transverse velocity can be used as an atomic fountain. The cooling scheme is basically the same as we used before.2 At the end of each frequency sweep for cooling, the atoms are optically pumped into the Zeeman level (F = 1, m F = 0) in the ground state.
A cesium frequency standard based on the atomic fountain configuration has the potential of improving the accuracy of primary frequency standard. For the first step toward a realization of slow vertical atomic beam (that is an atomic fountain), we have succeeded to decelerate the horizontal cesium atomic beam by laser cooling with the Zeeman tuning method. Then those slowed atoms are confined with a magneto-optical trap by four laser beams in the tetrahedral configuration. By using these trapped atoms, one can launch them upward with the upstream laser pulses.>
In our Cs atomic fountain, we laser cooled and trapped 10(exp 10) Cs atoms in 0.4 s. By shifting the frequencies of the laser beams, the atoms were launched upwards at 2.5 m/s and a fraction of the atoms were optically pumped into the F=3 ground state. The unwanted atoms in the F=4 ground state were removed from the fountain with radiation pressure from a laser beam tuned to excite only those atoms. The Cs atoms in the F=3 state traveled ballistically upwards, were excited by the microwave cavity, and then returned back through the same cavity in the atomic fountain configuration.
We use two-laser optical pumping on a continuous atomic fountain in order to prepare cold cesium atoms in the same quantum ground state. A first laser excites the F=4F=4F=4 ground state to pump the atoms toward F=3F=3F=3 while a second $\ensuremath{\pi}$-polarized laser excites the $F=3\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{F}^{'}=3$ transition of the D2{D}_{2}D2​ line to produce Zeeman pumping toward m=0m=0m=0. To avoid trap states, we implement the first laser in a two-dimensional optical lattice geometry, thereby creating polarization gradients. This configuration has the advantage of simultaneously producing Sisyphus cooling when the optical lattice laser is tuned between the $F=4\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{F}^{'}=4$ and $F=4\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{F}^{'}=5$ transitions of the D2{D}_{2}D2​ line, which is important to remove the heat produced by optical pumping. Detuning the frequency of the second $\ensuremath{\pi}$-polarized laser reveals the action of a mechanism improving both laser cooling and state-preparation efficiency. A physical interpretation of this mechanism is discussed.
We have developed a new scheme to produce a dense trap of sodium atoms in the magneto-optical trap using the transition of F=1 to F'=0 states. In a conventional Zeeman slower a bias magnetic field is applied in the deceleration region to prevent the optical pumping to the F=1 state, so that sodium atoms interact with the cooling radiation of F=2 to F'=3. As a result, many of slow atoms in the F=2 state continue to decelerate adiabatically even at the exit of the solenoid and remain inside the magnetic field. However, slow atoms could be extracted outside the magnetic field, if they are transferred to the F=1 state by the optical pumping via the F'=2 state. Therefore, we reduced the strength of the bias magnetic field. We trapped the slow sodium atoms in the F=1 state directly in the magneto-optical trap.