Abstract
In the recent past laser cooling of neutral atoms has gained considerable interest, motivated by investigation of the cooling mechanisms themselves as well as by the attractive possibilities for the use of cold gases or atomic beams in various fields in quantum optics or atomic laser spectroscopy. One starting point of such laser cooling experiments may be a thermal atomic beam, in which a major part of the velocity distribution is decelerated and cooled by a counterpropagating laser beam into a slow and narrow velocity interval. Several well established experimental techniques have been developed so far to overcome the accompanying fundamental apparent and experimental difficulties for this first step.1 By velocity selective deflection of the cold beam fraction with a light field always keeping the k-vectors perpendicular to the atomic trajectory,2 it is possible to obtain a monoenergetic atomic beam free from the strong laser fields, necessary for the cooling process, with a Doppler-limited transverse velocity width.
© 1990 Optical Society of America
PDF ArticleMore Like This
C. H. Ying, Z. Shi, W. Tan, and L. Vušković
QTuK18 Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference (CLEO:FS) 1993
E. RIIS, D. S. WEISS, K. A. MOLER, and S. CHU
QTHM3 International Quantum Electronics Conference (IQEC) 1990
T. JIANG, Y. J. SHIN, B. STUMPF, L. VUSKOVIC, and B. BEDERSON
TUGG33 International Quantum Electronics Conference (IQEC) 1987