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arXiv:physics/0206019 · Physical Review A

Photoionization of ultracold and Bose-Einstein-condensed Rb atoms

D. Ciampini, Marco Anderlini, Jörg Helge Müller, F. Fuso, O. Morsch, Jan W. Thomsen, E. Arimondo

Published Oct 10, 2002• 52 citations
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Abstract

Photoionization of a cold atomic sample offers intriguing possibilities for observing collective effects at extremely low temperatures. Irradiation of a rubidium condensate and of cold rubidium atoms within a magneto-optical trap (MOT) with laser pulses ionizing through one-photon and two-photon absorption processes was performed. Losses and modifications in the density profile of the remaining trapped cold cloud or the remaining condensate sample were examined as functions of the ionizing laser parameters. Ionization cross sections were measured for atoms in a MOT, while in magnetic traps losses larger than those expected for ionization process were measured.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.66.043409

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Photoionization of a cold atomic sample offers intriguing possibilities for observing collective effects at extremely low temperatures. Irradiation of a rubidium condensate and of cold rubidium atoms within a magneto-optical trap (MOT) with laser pulses ionizing through one-photon and two-photon absorption processes was performed. Losses and modifications in the density profile of the remaining trapped cold cloud or the remaining condensate sample were examined as functions of the ionizing laser parameters. Ionization cross sections were measured for atoms in a MOT, while in magnetic traps losses larger than those expected for ionization process were measured.
The recent development of laser cooling and trapping techniques has made possible the controlled realization of dense and cold atomic samples, thus opening the way for spectroscopic investigations in the low and ultra-low temperature regimes not accessible with conventional techniques. In our lab, an apparatus for laser cooling and Bose-Einstein condensation of rubidium atoms is in operation, producing a sample large enough to perform reliable investigations by absorption or emission techniques. Moving from previous photoionization experiments of laser-cooled atoms in a magneto-optical trap irradiated by cw-laser radiation [1] and stimulated by the interest grown recently on ultra-cold plasma [2], we have started a series of experiments aimed at investigating the interaction of intense laser pulses with the ultra-cold neutral sample, boty aboeand below the condensation temperature. Radiation from an excimer-pumped dye laser was used at a wavelength close to 594 nm, corresponding to the ionization threshold of rubidium for two photon non-resonant absorption from the ground state, with intensities in the tens of MW/cm^2 range and a pulse duration of 16 ns. Preliminary results, attained through the dynamical analysis (atom number, temperature) of the cold atom sample after the arrival of the laser pulse, suggest the occurrence of different processes, initiated by multi-photon ionization, involving collisions between cold electrons and ultra-cold neutrals, recombination at low temperatures and collective processes in the weak and cold plasma. Interpretation of those results demonstrates that this class of experiments, based on a variety of topics typical of atomic, plasma and statistical physics, can open the way for novel and intriguing investigations of laser-matter interaction. Further experimental developments will include duplication of the laser pulse frequency and one photon ionization of ground state rubidium laser-cooled atoms. [1] O. Maragò et al., Phys. Rev. A 57 R4110 (1998); E., Arimondo et al., Appl. Surf. Sci. 154-155 527 (2000); F. Fuso et al., Opt. Commun. 173 223 (2000). [2] T.C. Killian et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 83 4776 (1999); S. Kulin et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 85 318 (2000).
Summary form only given. Photoionization of cold atoms in their first excited state has been applied to measure the photoionization cross section in rubidium magneto-optical trap (MOT), and cesium MOT. The modifications of the MOT loading rate and of the steady state number of trapped atoms allow one to measure the dependence of the cold atom photoionization cross section on the laser wavelength for absorption from the excited atomic state. We report here on measurements of photoionization cross-sections of both laser-cooled sodium and lithium atoms at various photoionization wavelengths.
Two-photon ionization cross sections from the rubidium ground state have been measured with both a cw 421-nm laser and a combination of cw 421- and 1002-nm lasers. The measurements were performed within a high-vacuum magneto-optical trap while the trapping lasers were switched off, exploiting the long trap lifetime and also the trap laser confinement. The two-photon cross sections were determined for the blue laser near resonance with the 6P1/2 and 6P3/2 states and compared with the estimates of a theoretical model. In near resonance with the 6P states, large two-photon photoionization cross sections were measured.
We study photoionization of cold rubidium atoms in a strong infrared laser field using a magneto-optical trap (MOT) recoil ion momentum spectrometer. Three types of cold rubidium target are provided, operating in two-dimension (2D) MOT, 2D molasses, and 3D MOT with densities in the orders of 10710^7107 atoms/cm3^33, 10810^8108 atoms/cm3^33, and 10910^9109 atoms/cm3^33, respectively. The density profile and the temperature of 3D MOT are characterized using the absorption imaging and photoionization. The momentum distributions of Rb+^++ created by absorption of two- or three-photon illuminate a dipole-like double-peak structure, in good agreement with the results in the strong field approximation. The yielding momentum resolution of 0.12±0.030.12 \pm 0.030.12±0.03 a.u. is achieved in comparison with theoretical calculations, exhibiting the great prospects for the study of electron correlations in alkali metal atoms through interaction with strong laser pulses.