Abstract

A one-dimensional array of optical potential wells can be formed by interference of two counter-propagating linear and cross-polarized laser beams. This configuration is an example of an optical lattice, in which atoms are cooled to μΚ temperatures and trapped in micronsized potential wells. Optical lattices have been formed also in two and three dimensions, and studied extensively by, e.g., fluorescence and pump-probe spectroscopy. Chen et al.¹ and Kastberg et al.² have demonstrated that atoms trapped in an optical lattice can be cooled below the steady-state limit by a gradual reduction of the optical potential depth; this leads to adiabatic expansion of the atomic center-of-mass distribution and a corresponding decrease in the atomic momentum spread.

© 1996 Optical Society of America