Related papers: Optimizing the production of metastable calcium at…
We explore the efficacy of two single-repumping schemes, $5s5p \,{}^3P_2 - 5p^2 \,{}^3P_2$ ($481\,\mathrm{nm}$) and $5s5p \,{}^3P_2 - 5s5d \,{}^3D_2$ ($497\,\mathrm{nm}$), for a magneto-optical trap (MOT) of Sr atoms. We reveal that the…
Calcium monofluoride (CaF) is magnetically slowed and trapped using optical pumping. Starting from a collisionally cooled slow beam, CaF with an initial velocity of ~ 30 m/s is slowed via magnetic forces as it enters a 800 mK deep magnetic…
We have directly loaded a cryogenic beam of molybdenum atoms into a magneto-optical trap. By chirping the detuning of the trapping lasers, we were able to enhance the number of atoms loaded into the trap by more than a factor of two. We…
We report the measurement of one-body loss rates for magnetically trapped metastable europium atoms and the study of their loss mechanism. The loss of atoms observed in a magneto-optical trap is not fully understood because of the…
Here, we present our studies on intra-trap dynamics of an optical dipole trap (ODT) loaded from a Magneto-optical trap (MOT) of $^{87}$Rb atoms. A spatio-temporal Monte Carlo (MC) simulation approach has been employed in conjunction with…
We have measured the forbidden 2 3S1 - 2 1P1 transition at 887 nm in a quantum degenerate gas of metastable He-4 atoms confined in an optical dipole trap. The determined transition frequency is 338 133 594.4 (0.5) MHz, from which we obtain…
We report the first direct excitation of the strongly forbidden 5s2 1S0-5s5p 3P0 transition in 87Sr. Its frequency is 429 228 004 235 (20) kHz. A resonant laser creates a small leak in a magneto-optical trap (MOT): atoms build up to the…
We report the construction and characterization of an experimental setup for producing a cold gas of $^{40}$Ca atoms and excite them to high Rydberg states with a resonant three-photon-excitation scheme. The apparatus comprises four stages,…
We report on the loading and trapping of ultracold atoms in a one dimensional permanent magnetic lattice of period 10 micron produced on an atom chip. The grooved structure which generates the magnetic lattice potential is fabricated on a…
We present the creation of a lithium-cesium slow beam using a two-dimensional magneto-optical trap. The two-species atomic beam is directed to load a three-dimensional magneto-optical trap in ultrahigh vacuum. We achieve a loading rate of…
We report on a technique to improve the continuous loading of atomic strontium into a magnetic trap from a Magneto-Optical Trap (MOT). This is achieved by adding a depumping laser tuned to the 3P1 to 3S1 (688-nm) transition. The depumping…
We demonstrate a combination of an isotopically purified atom beam and a magneto-optical trap which enables the single atom detection of all stable isotopes of calcium (40, 42, 43, 44, 46 and 48). These isotopes range in abundance from 96.9…
We have trapped cesium atoms over many minutes in the focus of a CO$_2$-laser beam employing an extremely simple laser system. Collisional properties of the unpolarized atoms in their electronic ground state are investigated. Inelastic…
Calcium monofluoride (CaF) molecules are loaded into an optical dipole trap (ODT) and subsequently laser cooled within the trap. Starting with magneto-optical trapping, we sub-Doppler cool CaF and then load $150(30)$ CaF molecules into an…
Cold inelastic collisions between confined cesium (Cs) atoms and Cs$\_2$ molecules are investigated inside a CO$\_2$ laser dipole trap. Inelastic atom-molecule collisions can be observed and measured with a rate coefficient of $\sim 2.5…
We propose and analyze an electrostatic-optical nano-scale trap for cold diatomic polar molecules. The main ingredient of our proposal is an square-array of ferroelectric nano-rods {with alternating polarization}. We show that, in contrast…
We propose and analyze a Cesium lattice optical clock (CLOC) which has the potential for high performance and simple operation in a compact form factor using a forbidden optical transition in Cs atoms at 685 nm. Cs atoms are trapped in a 3D…
We demonstrate a continuously loaded $^{88}\mathrm{Sr}$ magneto-optical trap (MOT) with a steady-state phase-space density of $1.3(2) \times 10^{-3}$. This is two orders of magnitude higher than reported in previous steady-state MOTs. Our…
Recent experiments have demonstrated direct cooling and trapping of diatomic and triatomic molecules in magneto-optical traps (MOTs). However, even the best molecular MOTs to date still have density $10^{-5}$ times smaller than in typical…
Metastability and long-range interactions of Mg, Ca, and Sr in the lowest-energy metastable $^3P_2$ state are investigated. The calculated lifetimes are 38 minutes for Mg*, 118 minutes for Ca*, and 17 minutes for Sr*, supporting feasibility…