Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences Physics

A Macroscopic Dissipative Optical Trap for 87Rb Atoms Created by a Bichromatic Light Field

R. Ya. Ilenkov, O. N. Prudnikov, Anastasiia A. Kirpichnikova, A. V. Taichenachev, V. I. Yudin

Published May 1, 2026• 0 citations

Abstract

Abstract— The laser cooling and trapping of 87Rb atoms in a macroscopic dissipative pure potential created by a bichromatic light field has been investigated. For both one- and two-dimensional configurations, the formation of a stable, deep optical trap is demonstrated, and the achievement of sub-Doppler temperatures is shown.

DOI: 10.1134/s1062873826700449

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Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences Physics

A Macroscopic Dissipative Optical Trap for 87Rb Atoms Created by a Bichromatic Light Field

R. Ya. Ilenkov, O. N. Prudnikov, Anastasiia A. Kirpichnikova, A. V. Taichenachev, V. I. Yudin

Published May 1, 2026• 0 citations

Publisher

Abstract

DOI: 10.1134/s1062873826700449

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The laser cooling and trapping of

{ }^{87} \mathbf{R b}

atoms in pure-optical two frequency trap is studied in details. The parameter ranges in which optimal laser cooling is achieved were studied for the first time. The atoms can be simultaneously cooled and trapped by bichromatic laser field that opens up possibility to realize principally new type of pure optical trap. The depth of our trap is hundreds of spontaneous relaxation frequencies which corresponds to the depth of the magneto-optical traps used in the experiments.

We consider a laser cooling and trapping of alkaline-earth and similar atoms in a bichromatic field resonant to a closed optical transition

^1S_0 \to \, ^1P_1

^1S_0 \to \, ^3P_1

. It is shown that new kinetic effects emerge compared to monochromatic fields, enabling the formation of a deep macroscopic trap capable of capturing and cooling neutral atoms to sub-Doppler temperatures. Such a purely optical macroscopic trap can serve as an alternative to the well-known magneto-optical trap and can be used in applications requiring minimization of the magnetic field in the cold atom cloud region. The obtained results are of interest for the new generation of quantum sensors and optical frequency standards.

We present the experimental realization of optical superlattices created by exposing laser cooled

{}^{85}\mathrm{Rb}

atoms to a bichromatic standing-wave light field. The two light frequencies are tuned close to the

{D}_{1}

and

{D}_{2}

lines of

{}^{85}\mathrm{Rb}.

The total optical potential seen by the atoms exhibits a modulation at the spatial beat period of the two light fields in addition to the typical periodicity on the scale of an optical wavelength. The bichromatic light field cools the atoms into the superlattice potential, resulting in a density modulation on a macroscopic scale. We have observed the density modulation directly in one- and three-dimensional superlattice configurations using an absorption imaging technique.

Λ=1.5

cm. Such deep optical lattices with a macroscopic period open up possibility for developing effective methods for cooling and trapping neutral atoms without use of magnetic field as an alternative to MOT. This is important for developing compact systems based on cold atoms.