Interferometric Laser Cooling of Atomic Rubidium

Interferometric Laser Cooling of Atomic Rubidium.

We report the 1D cooling of ^{85}Rb atoms using a velocity-dependent optical force based upon Ramsey matter-wave interferometry. Using stimulated Raman transitions between ground hyperfine states, 12 cycles of the interferometer sequence cool a freely moving atom cloud from 21 to 3 μK. This pulsed analog of continuous-wave Doppler cooling is effective at temperatures down to the recoil limit; w...

Evaporative Cooling of a Guided Rubidium Atomic Beam

Laser cooling transitions in atomic erbium.

We discuss laser cooling opportunities in atomic erbium, identifying five J ? J + 1 transitions from the 4f126s2 3H6 ground state that are accessible to common visible and near-infrared continuous-wave tunable lasers. We present lifetime measurements for the 4f11(4Io 15/2)5d5/26s2 (15/2, 5/2)7o state at 11888 cm-1 and the 4f11(4Io 13/2)5d3/26s2 (13/2, 5/2)7o state at 15847 cm-1, showing values ...

A heated vapor cell unit for dichroic atomic vapor laser lock in atomic rubidium.

The design and performance of a compact heated vapor cell unit for realizing a dichroic atomic vapor laser lock (DAVLL) for the D(2) transitions in atomic rubidium is described. A 5 cm long vapor cell is placed in a double-solenoid arrangement to produce the required magnetic field; the heat from the solenoid is used to increase the vapor pressure and correspondingly the DAVLL signal. We have c...

Transverse laser cooling of a velocity-selected sodium atomic beam

The transverse velocity distribution of a sodium atomic beam, laser cooled in one dimension, has been measured with sub-recoil resolution. A velocity-selective detection system was employed to separate the longitudinal and transverse velocity components to provide a direct measure of the transverse velocity distribution. The effects of varying the cooling laser intensity and detuning on the der...