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International Laser Science Conference

Laser control of atomic motion

V. I. Balykin, Vladilen S Letokhov, Vladimir G. Minogin, A. I. Sidorov

Published Jan 1, 1986• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

This paper presents the results of experimental and theoretical investigations on the control of atomic beam motion by light pressure of laser radiation. Collimation, focusing, and compression of an atomic beam are considered. Collimation of an atomic beam was achieved under the interaction of laser radiation with atoms when the light pressure force depended only on the atoms’ velocity. A similar regime of atomic beam interaction with radiation was performed under transversal irradiation of a beam by the axisymmetric field. The latter was formed by laser radiation reflected from the conical mirror surface of a reflecting axicon. The axis of an atomic beam coincided with that of the axicon. The collimation regime was reached under negative detuning of the laser radiation frequency from that of the atomic transition one by a value equal to a few homogeneous widths. Under positive detuning by the same value beam decollimation was observed.

DOI
10.1364/ils.1986.wc3

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This paper presents the results of experimental and theoretical investigations on the control of atomic beam motion by light pressure of laser radiation. Collimation, focusing, and compression of an atomic beam are considered. Collimation of an atomic beam was achieved under the interaction of laser radiation with atoms when the light pressure force depended only on the atoms’ velocity. A similar regime of atomic beam interaction with radiation was performed under transversal irradiation of a beam by the axisymmetric field. The latter was formed by laser radiation reflected from the conical mirror surface of a reflecting axicon. The axis of an atomic beam coincided with that of the axicon. The collimation regime was reached under negative detuning of the laser radiation frequency from that of the atomic transition one by a value equal to a few homogeneous widths. Under positive detuning by the same value beam decollimation was observed.
We present the results of an experimental investigation of the control of atomic beam motion by the light pressure of laser radiation. Collimation, focusing, and reflection of the atomic beam are considered. Collimation of the atomic beam is achieved by the interaction of laser radiation with atoms, when the light pressure force depends only on the atom’s velocity. A similar regime of atomic beam interaction with radiation was performed with transversal irradiation of a beam by the axis-symmetrical field. The axis-symmetrical field was formed by laser radiation reflected from the conical mirror surface of a reflecting axicon. The axis of the atomic beam coincided with that of the axicon. The collimation regime was reached under negative detuning of the laser radiation frequency from the atomic transition frequency by a value equal to several homogeneous widths. With positive detuning by the same value the regime of beam decollimation was observed.
The use of resonant radiation pressure produced by an axisymmetric light field for collimating atomic beams is considered. As an example the possibility is examined of collimating an atomic beam by the light field created by reflecting a plane wave from the inner surface of a metal cone. It is shown that radiation pressure makes it possible to reduce the transverse velocities of an atomic beam to values of order 100 cm/s, which corresponds to an effective temperature on the order of 0.001 K. A method for obtaining collimated beams of cold atoms that is based on combined slowing-down and collimation of atom beams in response to the pressure of resonant laser radiation is examined. 16 references.
The transverse cooling of a beam of sodium atoms in an axisymmetric light field formed by a reflecting axicon is studied. It is shown that transverse cooling leads to a decrease in angular divergence (collimation) of the atomic beam. The transverse velocities of the beam are reduced from 5.5 × 102 to 1.6 × 102 cm/sec, which corresponds to the decrease in effective transverse temperature of the beam from T = 42 to T = 3.3 mK. The spatial and velocity distributions of the atomic beam are calculated numerically. It is found that theory and experiment are in good agreement.
A theoretical and experimental study is presented of the effect of stimulated radiation pressure (SRP) under the conditions of strong saturation of the resonance transition when the interaction times between the atom and the field are short (shorter than the radiative lifetime). An experimental method for studying the scattering of an atomic beam by the field of a standing light wave is described. The measured dependence of the scattering efficiency on the electric field and the detuning from resonance are reported. Experimental relationships are compared with theoretical calculations based on the quasi-classical description of the motion of atoms in the field of a light wave, using an effective potential. It is shown that the efficiency of scattering of atoms by SRP forces is of the order of unity in relatively weak (100–1000-V/cm) laser fields.