Atomic beam guide by a one-dimensional magneto-optical trap

An atomic beam has been collimated, compressed, and deflected simultaneously by an atomic beam guide based on an inclined one-dimensional magneto-optical trap (1D-MOT). Isotope-selected rubidium atoms were extracted from the naturally-mixed thermal atomic beam with this method. We could manipulate the transverse displacement of the deflected beam precisely by adjusting the current in the copper rods to generate the quadrupole magnetic field. We could extract more than 50% of the incident atoms as a deflection beam when we combined this deflection technique with the atomic deceleration using a broadband spectral light. Received: 10 December 1998 / Published online: 24 June 1999     

Atomic spectroscopy with squeezed light for sensitivity beyond the vacuum-state limit

A frequency tunable source of squeezed light has been developed which is suitable for a variety of spectroscopic applications. In initial experiments continuous tunability over a range of 2 GHz has been achieved with a directly observed nonclassical noise reduction of 6 dB relative to the vacuum-state limit in a balanced homodyne detector. A process of light-induced absorption in the nonlinear crystal has been identified as the principal loss mechanism which prevents the observation of yet larger degrees of squeezing. Although our source is potentially broadly tunable over the range of wavelengths from 840 to 970 nm, the current research centers on the performance at 852 nm for spectroscopy of the D ₂ line of atomic cesium. For frequency-modulated (FM) saturation spectroscopy in a vapor cell, an improvement of 3.1 dB in sensitivity relative to the usual quantum limit is demonstrated for the detection of Doppler-free resonances. When corrected for the thermal noise of the detector, the enhancement in signal-to-noise ratio brought by the squeezed field is 3.8 dB relative to the shot-noise limit set by the vacuum fluctuations of the probe field.     

Enhancement of Transfer Efficiency of Cold Atoms Using an Optical Guiding Laser Beam

We transfer cold ^87 Rb atoms from a vapour cell chamber to a spatially separated UHV magneto-optical trap （MOT） with the assistance of a red-detuned optical guiding beam and a normal push beam. Efficient optical guiding of the cold atoms is observed within a small detuning window. A pulsed optical guiding beam enhances the transfer efficiency and hence allows us to collect more atoms in UHV MOT in a shorter time, which is favourable for our experiment of achieving Bose-Einstein condensates （BEC）. Besides the easy operation, another advantage of this optical guiding technique is also demonstrated such that slower atomic beams may be efficiently transferred along horizontal direction. This study is a direct application of the optical guiding technique as a powerful tool.     

Generation of a Non-Classical Correlated Photon Pair via Spontaneous Four-Wave Mixing in a Cold Atomic Ensemble

Counter propagated write and read lasers can be used to generate non-classical correlated photon pairs in an atomic ensemble. We experimentally investigate how the detuning of the write laser affects the non-classical correlation function between the Stokes photon and the anti-Stokes photon, which are generated via a spontaneous four-wave mixing process using an off-axis configuration in a cold 85 Rb atomic ensemble. The change of the time-resolved second-order correlated function between the Stokes and anti-Stokes photons is presented. The experimental result suggests that a suitable choice of detuning should be considered in such an experiment.     

Thermal photoionization in resonance ionization spectroscopy

In Resonance Ionization Spectroscopy, neutral atoms are usually produced by thermal effects, using an oven or a hot surface at high temperature. The radiation from these thermal sources is intense enough to effectively contribute to the photoionization of atoms excited by laser pumping. We show that, for the most common experimental conditions, the ratio of thermal to laser photoionization can be higher than one for excited levels which lie as far as a few thousand cm^–1 below the ionization threshold. This result is obtained with the use of the analytic expression for the photoionization cross-section of a hydrogen-like atom. We suggest two applications of this thermal photoionization. Namely, the study of highly excited states and Quasi Resonance Ionization Spectrometry, using only one laser of low radiance.Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, Centre d'Etudes Nucléaires de Fontenay-aux-Roses DERDCA/DCAEA/SEA, BP no 6, F-92265 Fontenay-aux-Roses Cedex, France (Visiting scientist at Ecole Polytechnique from Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique)Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, Centre d'Etudes Nucléaires de Saclay, IRF/DPHG/PAS. Bât 462, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France     

Alternate technique for simultaneous measurement of photoionization cross-section of isotopes by TOF mass spectrometer

New measurements of photoionization cross-sections of the lithium isotopes are reported employing a Time of Flight (TOF) mass spectrometer in conjunction with an atomic beam apparatus. Using a two-step selective photoionization and saturation technique, we have simultaneously measured the photoionization cross-section of the 2p excited state of both the isotopes Li⁶ and Li⁷ as 15±2.5 Mb and 18 ±2.5 Mb where as the corresponding number densities have been determined as N₀≈5.3×10¹⁰ atoms/cm³ and N₀≈6.2×10¹¹ atoms/cm³ respectively.     

Determination of the Surface Tension of Liquid Fe77.5Cu13Mo9.5 Ternary Monotectic Alloy

Thermophysical properties of undercooled liquid monotectic alloys are usually difficult to be determined because of the great dittlculty in achieving large undercoolings. We measure the surface tension of liquid Fe77.5 Cu13Mo9.5 monotectic alloy by an electromagnetic oscillating drop method over a wide temperature range from 1577 to 1784 K, including both superheated and undercooled states. A good linear relationship exists between the surface tension and temperature. The surface tension value is 1.588 N/m at the monotectic temperature of 1703K, and its temperature coefficient is -3.7 × 10^-4 Nm^-1 K^-1. Based on the Butler equation, the surface tension is also calculated theoretically. The experimental and calculated results indicate that the effect of the enriched element on droplet surface is much more conspicuous than the other elements to decrease the surface tension.     

The effect of inclusion size on grain boundary wetting in Al-Sn alloys

The wetting behavior of liquid metal was studied for the Al-Sn system with particular reference to low Sn concentrations. It was shown that for Sn concentrations below 5 wt-%, liquid grain boundary films break up into separate inclusions, the wetting angle of which increases with decreasing inclusion size. Possible explanations for this phenomenon are discussed, and it is concluded that the wetting angle is not a fixed constant according solely to Young's equation, but that a correction factor is required for small inclusions.     

Spontaneous emission in the near-resonant kapitza-dirac effect

We study the influence of spontaneous emission on atom diffraction by a standing wave laser field. We characterize, analytically, the major regimes of the near-resonant Kapitza-Dirac effect and study, numerically, the influence of spontaneous emission. In particular, we discuss in some detail two important classes of two-beam resonances which are major candidates to develop effective atom beam splitters, the so-called Bragg and Doppleron resonances.     

Lasers excited by photodissociation: The thalliumiodide laser

This review is concerned with lasers excited by photodissociation of molecules. The principle of photolytic excitation is described and a number of existing lasers is presented. As an example the properties of the thallium laser such as spectral and temporal emission, achievable gain and efficiency are discussed in detail.     

Circular dichroism in radiative and nonradiative inelastic XUV scattering

Accepted: 6 March 1997     

Single photoeffect on helium-like ions in the non-relativistic region

We present a generalization of the pioneering results obtained for single K-shell photoionization of H-like ions by M. Stobbe [M. Stobbe, Ann. Phys. 7 (1930) 661] to the case of the helium isoelectronic sequence. The total cross section of the process is calculated, taking into account the correlation corrections to first order of the perturbation theory with respect to the electron–electron interaction. Predictions are made for the entire non-relativistic energy domain. The phenomenon of dynamical suppression of correlation effects in the ionization cross section is discussed.     

Coherent Control of Population Transfer in Li Atoms via Chirped Microwave Pulses

We demonstrate theoretically that Li atoms can be transferred to states of a lower principal quantum number by exposing them to a frequency chirped microwave pulse. The population transfer of Li atoms from the n = 75 state to n = 70 with more than 90% efficiency is achieved by means of the sequential single-photon △n = -1 transitions. The calculation fully utilizes all of the available orbital angular momentum l states for a given n, and the interference pattern and population evolution dynamics of individual l states are analyzed in detail. Using the time-dependent multilevel approach, we describe the process reasonably well as a sequence of adiabatic rapid passages.     

Numerical simulation of atomic diffraction in the Raman-Nath regime

The theory of atomic diffraction from a classical standing wave light field in the presence of spontaneous emission in the Raman-Nath regime was developed by Tanguy et al. [6]. We describe the basis of computationally efficient methods for performing calculations in this regime and show their agreement with recent experimental results of Gould et al. [4].     

Optical traps for quantum gases

Received: 19 June 1998     

Kinetics of Liquid Structure Transition of Sn-（40wt%）Bi Melt

The kinetics of temperature-induced liquid-liquid structure transition （TI-LLST） process in Sn-（40wt%）Bi melt is investigated in isothermal and continuous heating experiments with electrical resistivity method. The time evolution pattern of the electrical resistivity suggested the transition mechanism of TI-LLST for Sn-（40wt%）Bi melt in accordance with the autocatalytic reaction model, which is an indication of nucleation-growth type. With the calculated reaction rate constant KT and apparent activation energy Δ E, we deduce the reason for the characteristics of TI-LLST. The present result may be beneficial for further understanding of the nature of TI-LLST.     

The influence of shear bands on final structure and magnetic properties of 3% Si non-oriented silicon steel

The presence of shear bands in the deformed material before final annealing is very important for Goss and Cube textures formation in silicon steel [S.C. Paolinelli, M.A. Cunha, J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 255 (2003) pp. 379. [1]; J.T. Park, J.A. Szpunar, Acta Mater., 51 (2003) 3037. [2]]. The increase of the hot-band grain size can increase the number of shear bands, which favor the nucleation of these orientations. In this work, the effect of the hot band grain size variation, promoted by varying the hot rolling finishing temperature, on final structure and magnetic properties was investigated for 3% Si alloy. It was found that the increase of the hot-band grain size increases the occurrence of shear bands and promotes an increase of η fiber fraction and a reduction of γ fiber fraction, improving the magnetic induction. On the other hand, the final grain size is reduced when the hot-band grain size is larger than 190 μm, deteriorating the core loss values in spite of the texture benefits. The reduction of final grain size was explained by the increase of the number of nuclei at the beginning of the recrystallization caused by the increase of shear bands in the deformed material.     

The factorization approximation for the Master Equation

We examine the validity of the application of the Factorization Approximation to derive the Master Equation for a microscopic system coupled to a reservoir. We developed a formal perturbation expansion for the time evolution of the system reduced density matrix. We employed a diagrammatic schemes to produce each term of the perturbation series. The diagrams in the time domain provide a distinct criteria to distinguish the diagrams which survive the Factorization Approximation. The Feynmann-like diagrams in the energy domain, originated from the Resolvent method, are used for execution of diagram summations to estimate their overall contributions. We demonstrated that for a two level atomic system, interacting with a thermal reservoir, the summation over the diagrams which survived the Factorization Approximation, yields the proper time evolution of the system, in agreement with the solution of the Master Equation. The summation of the diagrams which are excluded by applying the Factorization Approximation are characterized by a dimensionless parameter: Γ/ω₀, where ω₀ is the frequency of the transition line, and Γ is the line width. The Factorization Approximation is thus rigorously justified when this expansion parameter is very small.     

Theory of collective dynamics of liquid polyvalent metal: Hg

Recently suggested microscopic theory of collective dynamics of a liquid has been used to successfully explain the detailed experimental dynamic structure factor of liquid mercury at room temperature, observed experimentally recently using high resolution inelastic X-ray scattering for various momentum transfers lying in the range 3 nm⁻¹–37.1 nm⁻¹.     

Low core loss non-oriented silicon steels

Low core loss non-oriented silicon steels are produced with high (Si+Al) content to reduce eddy current losses. However, high alloy content has detrimental effect on mechanical properties, saturation polarization and thermal conductivity. A new generation of medium and, particularly, low core loss non-oriented silicon steels was developed, with lower alloy content than the conventional grades, based on improved purity and texture. The development allowed the production of new low loss grades, with maximum core loss (W_1.5/50) of 2.30 W/kg at 0.50 mm and 1.95 W/kg at 0.35 mm, with high permeability (J₅₀ of 1.7 and 1.72 T, respectively). Texture improvement was based on hot band structure control and higher boundary mobility. Large hot band grain size and low [1 1 0]∥RD fiber fraction in the hot band texture contribute to reduce the intensity of [1 1 1]∥ND and slightly increase the intensity of [0 0 1]∥RD in the final product. Higher grain boundary mobility and/or a two-stage cold rolling process, with an intermediate annealing, increase the fraction of [0 0 1]∥RD and reduce the fraction of [1 1 1]∥ND on recrystallization and lead to favorable texture evolution on grain growth.