Abstract

To manipulate atomic motion by laser radiation in two or three dimensions, atoms are usually exposed to several laser beams whose interference pattern reigns the light-atom interaction and hence the atom dynamics. In general, the resulting light field crucially depends on the relative phases of the interfering light beams. One method to provide a laser field with a stable intensity and polarization, configuration is to reduce the number of beams to the minimum (d +1 in d dimensions) and thereby eliminate the influence of the relative phases.¹ In this case, the only variable parameters are the beam geometry and polarization.

© 1998 Optical Society of America