Laser deflection, cooling and trapping of atoms

Klaus Mølmer, G. S. Agarwal

Philip H. Jones, Onofrio M. Maragò, Giovanni Volpe

Lancelot Graham, C. F. Bharucha, F. L. Moore

Atomic beam deflection in a quantum field is studied theoretically for the case of an atom passing through the mode of a resonant optical cavity. Deflection probability is calculated for a coupling rate g of order g/2{pi}=1 MHz, which is experimentally feasible in a short optical cavity. Atomic velocities are taken in the range of 1-10 m/s, which can be reached with current cooling and trapping techniques. We calculate deflection for a coherent state with mean photon number , and for a number state. For the parameters studied, the predicted scattering is in an intermediate regime between Raman-Nath and Bragg, but is closer to the former. We find significant deflection probability even for =1, indicating potential for a high level of sensitivity. We report on our progress in the experimental realization of this system with laser cooled sodium atoms as the atomic medium, and directions for future work are indicated.

Steven Chu, Mara Goff Prentiss, A. Cable +1 more

J. Nellessen, Jörg Helge Müller, K. Sengstock +1 more

A sodium atomic beam has been decelerated and laser cooled to a longitudinal beam temperature of less than 30 mK. Subsequently these slow atoms with a typical velocity of 100 m/sec were selectively deflected by laser-light forces. The deflection angle was typically 30°. The deflection scheme permits a stabilization of the transverse velocities in the deflected atomic beam down to the quantum-limit temperature for one dimension (0.7 × 240 μK). The experimentally achieved temperatures are of the order of 1 mK.

Steven Chu, Carl Wieman