Subrecoil cooling of Rydberg atoms in bichromatic light waves

W. Lange, HERBERT WALTHER

Boris G. Matisov, I. A. Grigorenko, I. E. Mazets

Jingzhong Guo, E. Arimondo

We present a calculation of cooling of Rydberg atoms in bichromatic standing light waves. The atoms in our model are assumed to have a cascade three-level transition scheme, with the second excited level being the Rydberg state. The cooling fields, which also excite the atoms to the Rydberg state, consist of two standing waves whose frequencies are tuned near the two transition frequencies of the cascade atomic system. It is shown that the mechanisms of Sisyphus cooling and velocity-selective coherent population trapping can co-exist in such a configuration, and under certain conditions the majority of the laser-cooled atoms are in the Rydberg state.

Yu. Rozhdestvensky, Eugeny Korsunsky

Eugeny Korsunsky, Yuri V. Rozhdestvenskii

We show that an ensemble of atoms in highly excited states with narrow center-of-mass momentum distribution (cold Rydberg atoms) can be obtained with velocity-selective (pi) - pulses and laser cooling by velocity-selective coherent population trapping (VSCPT). Both methods use three-level cascade systems with the uppermost state being the Rydberg one where the atoms are excited and cooled. Very high fraction of atoms can be cooled to subrecoil temperatures by the use of VSCPT in standing light waves.

Eugeny Korsunsky, Yu. Rozhdestvensky

Two mechanisms for production of an ensemble of atoms in a highly excited state with very narrow distribution of the atomic center-of-mass momentum (cold Rydberg atoms) are proposed. The mechanisms are based on velocity-selective $\ensuremath{\pi}$ pulses and coherent population trapping in three-level cascade systems with the uppermost state being the Rydberg one. Both methods permit one to reach subrecoil temperatures of the Rydberg atoms.