Blue-detuned magneto-optical trap
Atomic Physics
2018-02-28 v1
Abstract
We present the properties and advantages of a new magneto-optical trap (MOT) where blue-detuned light drives `type-II' transitions that have dark ground states. Using Rb, we reach a radiation-pressure-limited density exceeding cm and a temperature below 30K. The phase-space density is higher than in normal atomic MOTs, and a million times higher than comparable red-detuned type-II MOTs, making it particularly attractive for molecular MOTs which rely on type-II transitions. The loss of atoms from the trap is dominated by ultracold collisions between Rb atoms. For typical trapping conditions, we measure a loss rate of cms.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1712.05002,
title = {Blue-detuned magneto-optical trap},
author = {K. N. Jarvis and J. A. Devlin and T. E. Wall and B. E. Sauer and M. R. Tarbutt},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1712.05002},
year = {2018}
}