Pulsed magnetooptic compression of cold atoms

A method is proposed for increasing the density of cold atoms. The method is based on pulsed laser irradiation of the atoms in a nonuniform magnetic field. The interaction conditions under which the velocity of an atom is damped to a value that depends only on the magnitude of the magnetic field and the position of the atom at the moment it is irradiated by the laser field are found. The atom completely loses all memory of its initial coordinates and velocity. In a three-dimensional interaction geometry an irradiated atomic ensemble transforms into an ensemble contracting toward the origin. The basic physical processes accompanying the compression of atoms are studied. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 66, No. 5, 327–331 (10 September 1997)