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Journal of Physics Conference Series

Increasing the trapping lifetime of lithium-7 atoms in optical dipole trap

Sergey A. Saakyan, Vladimir A. Sautenkov, N. V. Morozov, Andrey A. Bobrov, Boris B. Zelener

Published Feb 1, 2021• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract We have developed far-off resonance single beam dipole trap for optically cooled lithium-7 atoms. In the present paper we discuss some preliminary results. In order to improve performance of the trap we optimized the trapping time and increased the atoms number. The lifetime was increased by improving the vacuum from ≈ 3 × 10−10 Torr to ≈ 10−11 Torr and preparing all the atoms in the selected atomic state (the lower ground state level). After vacuum improvement the single particle losses in the magneto-optical trap was reduced by 100 times and as the result the lifetime in the dipole trap reached 25 s.

DOI
10.1088/1742-6596/1787/1/012046

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Abstract We have developed far-off resonance single beam dipole trap for optically cooled lithium-7 atoms. In the present paper we discuss some preliminary results. In order to improve performance of the trap we optimized the trapping time and increased the atoms number. The lifetime was increased by improving the vacuum from ≈ 3 × 10−10 Torr to ≈ 10−11 Torr and preparing all the atoms in the selected atomic state (the lower ground state level). After vacuum improvement the single particle losses in the magneto-optical trap was reduced by 100 times and as the result the lifetime in the dipole trap reached 25 s.
In our experiment, a single cesium atom prepared in a large-magnetic-gradient magneto-optical trap (MOT) can be efficiently transferred into a 1064-nm far-off-resonance microscopic optical dipole trap (FORT). The efficient transfer of the single atom between the two traps is used to determine the trapping lifetime and the effective temperature of the single atom in FORT. The typical trapping lifetime has been improved from ∼ 6.9 s to ∼ 130 s by decreasing the background pressure from ∼ 1 × 10 −10 Torr to ∼ 2 × 10 −11 Torr and applying one-shot 10-ms laser cooling phase. We also theoretically investigate the dependence of trapping lifetimes of a single atom in a FORT on trap parameters based on the FORT beam’s intensity noise induced heating. Numerical simulations show that the heating depends on the FORT beam’s waist size and the trap depth. The trapping time can be predicted based on effective temperature measurement of a single atom in the FORT and the intensity noise spectra of the FORT beam. These experimental results are found to be in agreement with the predictions of the heating model.
We describe a simple experimental technique which allows us to store a small and deterministic number of neutral atoms in an optical dipole trap. The desired atom number is prepared in a magneto-optical trap overlapped with a single focused Nd:YAG laser beam. Dipole trap loading efficiency of 100% and storage times of about one minute have been achieved. We have also prepared atoms in a certain hyperfine state and demonstrated the feasibility of a state-selective detection via resonance fluorescence at the level of a few neutral atoms. A spin relaxation time of the polarized sample of 4.2+/-0.7 s has been measured. Possible applications are briefly discussed.
Summary form only given. The interest in optical dipole traps as an elegant and simple way to store laser-cooled neutral atoms has rapidly increased. Far-off-resonance optical dipole traps can confine atoms in all ground states for a long time with a very small ground state relaxation time. In contrast to previous work, the magneto-optical trap presented here describes experiments performed with a few atoms, with the atom number ranging from 1 to 10. The precise control of a deterministic number of atoms is crucial in many experiments, e.g. in cavity QED and quantum information processing.
To prepare cold lithium atoms for atomic interferometry experiments, we have carried out experimental researches on Zeeman deceleration and magneto-optical trap (MOT) of lithium atoms. We have also designed and implemented a compact adjustable Zeeman slower with an inner water cooling chamber, to decelerate the velocity of the 7Li atom beam from 600 m/s down to 60 m/s, and load them into the MOT. The loading rate is 5108 /s, the total trapped atom number is 1109 , and the lowest temperature of the atom cloud is 220 30 K. Then we investigate the dependence of lifetime of 7Li atoms in optical molasses on the detuning of trapping laser beams. The above results lay a foundation for further sub-Doppler cooling, optical trap based on evaporative cooling, and atomic interferometry experiments.
We report theoretical studies of an ef ficient accumulation of 225 Ra atoms in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) from an atomic beam. The number of atoms in the trap is limited due to the large leakage into metastable D states from the cooling transition and the loss mechanism from collisions with the background gases and with other elements in the atomic beam. We propose a setup consisting of an ef ficient Zeeman slower, an optical atomic beam de flector, and an EggMOT, which provides a large capture velocity, e.g. the Zeeman slower capture velocity of 581 ms 1 and the MOT capture velocity of 46 ms 1 . Furthermore, the pure slow atomic beam produced by the optical atomic beam de flector can maximize the number of trapped atoms and their lifetime in a ultra high vacuum chamber by minimizing the collisional loss. Our proposed setup allows for the search for a permanent electric dipole moment based on laser-cooled and trapped radium atoms with improved sensitivity.
Trapping lithium with a big number in a simplified experimental setup has difficulties and challenges today. In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate the enhancement of \textsuperscript{6}Li trapping efficiency in a three-dimensional magneto-optical trap (3D MOT) by using the multiple-sideband cooling in a two-dimensional magneto-optical trap (2D MOT). To improve the number of trapped atoms, we broaden the cooling light spectrum to 102 MHz composed of seven frequency components and then trap atoms with a number of 6.0×1086.0\times10^86.0×108 which is about 4 times compared to that in the single-frequency cooling. The capture velocity and dependence of atomic number on the laser detuning have been analyzed, where the experimental result has a good agreement with the theoretical prediction based on a simple two-level model. We also analyze the loss rate of alkali metals due to fine-structure exchanging collisions and find that the multiple-sideband cooling is special valid for lithium.