Two body loss rate in a magneto-optical trap of metastable He

We have measured the two body loss rate in a magneto-optical trap containing triplet metastable He atoms. We find a rate constant cm³/s at a -8 MHz detuning, with an uncertainty of a factor 2. This measurement is in disagreement with a recent experiment which measures the absolute, ion-producing collision rate, but agrees with several other published measurements. Received 20 April 1999 and Received in final form 12 July 1999     

Flux enhancement model for cold cesium fine-structure changing collisions

The measurements of fine-structure changing collisions in a cesium magneto-optical trap, reported in a previous work [A. Fioretti et al., Phys. Rev. A 55, R3999 (1997)], are reanalyzed within a model based on the flux enhancement effect, which takes place in cold atomic collisions. In the present analysis, we consider the cooperative effect of the long-range and the shorter-range excitation by the strong trap laser. We evidence also the important role of the hyperfine structure of the Cs₂ molecular levels asymptotically connected to the ground-state and excited-state dissociation limits. Received 22 July 1999 and Received in final form 4 May 2000     

Differential measurement of the ultracold Cs radiative escape and fine structure changing collision rates

We present direct measurements of the overall trap loss rate and the fine structure changing collision rate for ultracold cesium atom confined in a magneto-optical trap over an intensity range of 5 mW/cm² to 200 mW/cm². This set of simultaneous measurements allows the accurate extraction and separation of the fine structure changing rate and the radiative escape rate as these two processes compete with one another to determine the overall trap loss rate. Received 4 December 1998 and Received in final form 18 March 1999     

Penning collisions of laser-cooled metastable helium atoms

We present experimental results on the two-body loss rates in a magneto-optical trap of metastable helium atoms. Absolute rates are measured in a systematic way for several laser detunings ranging from -5 to -30 MHz and at different intensities, by monitoring the decay of the trap fluorescence. The dependence of the two-body loss rate coefficient β on the excited state ( 2³ P ₂) and metastable state ( 2³ S ₁) populations is also investigated. From these results we infer a rather uniform rate constant K _sp = (1±0.4)×10^-7 cm³/s. Received 8 September 2000 and Received in final form 19 December 2000     

Cold rubidium molecule formation through photoassociation: A spectroscopic study of the 0 g - long-range state of 87 Rb 2

We report the detailed analysis of translationally cold rubidium molecule formation through photoassociation. Cold molecules are formed after spontaneous decay of photoexcited molecules from a laser cooled atomic sample, and are detected by selective mass spectroscopy after two-photon ionization into Rb ₂ ⁺ ions. A spectroscopic study of the 0 _g ^- (5 S + 5 P _3/2 ) pure long-range state of ⁸⁷Rb₂ is performed by detecting the ion yield as a function of the photoassociation laser frequency; the spectral data are theoretically analyzed within the semiclassical RKR approach. Molecular ionization is resonantly enhanced through either the 2 ³ Π _g or the 2 ³ Σ ⁺ _g intermediate molecular states. Some vibrational levels of the latter electronic state are observed and assigned here for the first time. Finally, cold molecules formation rates are calculated and compared to the experimentally measured ones, and the vibrational distribution of the formed molecules in the a ³ Σ ⁺ _u ground triplet state is discussed. Received 18 January 2001 and Received in final form 10 April 2001     

Direct measurement of fine structure changing collisional losses in cold trapped 85Rb

Using a technique that consists in ionizing atoms out of the 5P _1/2 fragments originated in the cold collision process, we have measured the contribution of the fine structure changing collision (FS) to the total trap loss rate of cold ⁸⁵Rb. Our results show that FS contribution is responsible for about 4% of the total trap loss. This result should stimulate new theoretical discussions involving exoergic cold collisions. Received 26 October 1998 and Received in final form 2 February 1999     

Inversion analysis of K 2 coupled electronic states with the Fourier grid method

We present a new determination of the potential curves and interactions of the coupled electronic states A ¹ Σ ⁺ _u and b ³ Π _u of the potassium dimer, based on new laser spectroscopy measurements within a molecular beam, combined with data available in the literature. We used a new global deperturbation approach, involving the Fourier Grid Hamiltonian method for energy level calculation. A standard deviation of 1.2 is obtained corresponding to a variance of 7.5×10 ^-3 cm^-1, representing a significant improvement compared to the standard deviation of 4 yielded by the traditional local deperturbation approach. Received 12 June 2001 and Received in final form 3 September 2001     

Cross-section for collisions of ultracold Li with Na

In a magneto-optical trap (MOT) we are able to simultaneously trap and cool ⁷Li and Na. We investigated the loading behavior of the cloud of Li atoms in presence of the overlapped cloud of cold Na atoms, and, by blocking the weak repumping beam for Na, compared it with the loading curve for Li atoms only. Out of these loading curves we calculated the collision cross-section of Na on Li to be 10^-11 cm ³ /s. Received 11 January 2002 / Received in final form 5 April 2002 Published online 24 September 2002     

Photo induced collisions with laser cooled He* atoms

This paper presents an experimental investigation of cold collisions between metastable helium atoms in an optical trap at 1 mK. Penning (PI) and associative (AI) ionization reactions are distinguished using a mass spectrometer and studied under influence of near resonant laser light. Dramatic enhancement, by more than a factor 15, of the ion rate is observed when the laser is tuned close to resonance. Experimental findings are well-described, on an absolute scale, by model predictions. Received: 9 February 1998 / Revised: 4 May 1998 / Accepted: 14 May 1998     

Photoionization cross-sections of the first excited states of sodium and lithium in a magneto-optical trap

A two element magneto-optical trap (MOT) for Na and ⁷Li or ⁶Li is used to cool and trap each of them separately. A fraction of the cold atoms is maintained in the first ²P_3/2 excited state by the cooling laser. These excited state atoms are ionized by laser light in the near-UV region, giving rise to a smaller number of trapped atoms and to different loading parameters. Photoionization cross-sections were derived out of these data. They are in reasonable agreement with data previously obtained using thermal samples and with theoretical predictions. Received 21 March 2001 and Received in final form 3 August 2001     

Trapping and cooling cesium atoms in a speckle field

We present the results of two experiments where cold cesium atoms are trapped in a speckle field. In the first experiment, a YAG laser creates the speckle pattern and induces a far-detuned dipole potential which is a nearly-conservative potential. Localization of atoms near the intensity maxima of the speckle field is observed. In a second experiment we use two counterpropagating laser beams tuned close to a resonance line of cesium and in the linlin configuration, one of them being modulated by a holographic diffuser that creates the speckle field. Three-dimensional cooling is observed. Variations of the temperature and of the spatial diffusion coefficient with the size of a speckle grain are presented. Received 16 December 1998 and Received in final form 16 April 1999     

Polarisation effect of laser field in inelastic electron - hydrogen collisions

We study the influence of the laser polarization on the electron impact excitation of atomic hydrogen. Our method takes into account the “dressing” of the target states by including the laser-atom interaction to first order time-dependent perturbation theory, while the interaction of the laser field with the incident electron is treated to all orders by using the non relativist Volkov function. The interaction of the fast projectile with the target atom is treated in the first Born approximation. The calculations are performed via two distinct computations. The first one is based on a direct calculation, the second based on a Sturmian approach. Important differences appear between the angular distributions depending on the polarization chosen. Received : 17 february 1998 / Revised : 20 july 1998 / Accepted : 2 september 1998     

Blue-Sisyphus cooling in cesium gray molasses and antidot lattices

We present an experimental study of the kinetic temperature of cesium atoms interacting with laser beams tuned on the blue side of the transition. In the case of a three-dimensional four-beam molasses, temperatures as low as 800 nK were found. These low temperatures are compatible with a good capture efficiency. The influence of other hyperfine transitions on the temperature is significant. In the presence of a static magnetic field (antidot lattices), the temperatures are slightly higher but show a much weaker dependence on the other hyperfine transitions. Received: 14 May 1998 / Received in final form: 16 October 1998 / Accepted: 2 November 1998     

Formation of ultracold molecules via photoassociation with blue detuned laser light

We propose a new possibility to form ultracold molecules, via photoassociation of a pair of cold atoms into vibrational levels of the external well of an excited electronic state located at intermediate interatomic distance ( ≈ 20 Bohr radii), and embedded in the dissociation continuum above its dissociation limit. The existence of such a well is demonstrated by conventional free-free absorption spectroscopy at thermal energies. Estimation for cold atom photoassociation and cold molecule formation rates are obtained within a perturbative approach [Drag et al., IEEE J. Quant. Electr. 36, 1378 (2000)], and are found observable for usual conditions of photoassociation experiments. Received 1st March 2001     

Interaction of frequency modulated light pulses with rubidium atoms in a magneto-optical trap

The spatial displacement of the ⁸⁵Rb atoms in a Magneto-Optical Trap (MOT) under the influence of series of frequency modulated light pulse pairs propagating opposite to each other is measured as a function of the time elapsed after the start of the pulse train, and compared with the results of simulations. Adiabatic excitation and consecutive de-excitation take place between the ground 5²S_1/2 (F=3) and the 5²P_3/2 (F'=2, 3, 4) excited levels as the result of the interaction. The displacement of the ⁸⁵Rb atoms is calculated as the solution of simple equation of motion where the expelling force is that arising from the action of the frequency modulated light pulses. The restoring and friction forces of the MOT are taken into account also. The system of Bloch equations for the density matrix elements is solved numerically for transitions between six working hyperfine levels of the atom interacting with the sequence of the frequency modulated laser pulses. According to these simulations, the momentum transferred by one pulse pair is always smaller than the expected 2ħk, (1) where ħ is the Plank constant and k=2π/λ where λ is the wavelength, (2) having a maximum value in a restricted region of variation of the laser pulse peak intensity and the chirp.     

Optimizing the production of metastable calcium atoms in a magneto-optical trap

We investigate the production of long-lived metastable (4³ P ₂ ) calcium atoms in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) operating on the 4¹ S ₀ ?4¹ P ₁ transition at 423 nm. For excited 4¹ P ₁ atoms a weak decay channel into the triplet states 4³ P ₂ and 4³ P ₁ exists via the 3¹ D ₂ state. The undesired 4³ P ₁ atoms decay back to the ground state within 0.4 ms and can be fully recaptured if the illuminated trap volume is sufficientlylarge. We obtain a flux of above 10¹⁰ atoms/s into the 4³ P ₂ state. We find that our MOT lifetime of 23 ms is mainly limited by this loss channel, and thus the 4³ P ₂ production is not hampered by inelastic collisions. If we close the loss channel by repumping the 3¹ D ₂ atoms with a 671 nm laser back into the MOT cycling transition, a non-exponential 72 ms trap decay is observed, indicating the presence of inelastic two-body collisions between 4¹ S ₀ and 4¹ P ₁ atoms. Received: 10 July 2001 / Revised version: 22 October 2001 / Published online: 23 November 2001     

A continuous cold atomic beam from a magneto-optical trap

We have developed and characterized a new method to produce a continuous beam of cold atoms from a standard vapour-cell magneto-optical trap (MOT). The experimental apparatus is very simple. Using a single laser beam it is possible to hollow out in the source MOT a direction of unbalanced radiation pressure along which cold atoms can be accelerated out of the trap. The transverse cooling process that takes place during the extraction reduces the beam divergence. The atomic beam is used to load a magneto-optical trap operating in an ultra-high vacuum environment. At a vapour pressure of 10^-8mbar in the loading cell, we have produced a continuous flux of 7×10⁷atoms/s at the recapture cell with a mean velocity of 14 m/s. A comparison of this method with a pulsed transfer scheme is presented. Received 19 February 2001     

Electrodynamic trap for neutral atoms

An electrodynamic trap is proposed that stores cold neutral atoms or nonpolar molecules in their ground state as well as in excited states by means of the quadratic Stark effect. The trap uses an oscillating hexapole field and a superposed static homogeneous field. The dynamics of an atom in this trap can be described as a harmonic oscillation in a static pseudopotential. Stability criteria and sample parameters for a number of atomic species are given. Received: 7 August 1998 / Received in final form: 7 January 1999     

Decay rate measurement of lithium in a magneto-optical trap

A detailed account of various experimental techniques developed during the study on the decay rate coefficient of laser trapped ⁷Li atoms are presented. The frequency of a dye laser is stabilized using a simple sealed-off cell specially designed for Li vapor. The accurate number of trapped atoms are obtained by measuring the fluorescence intensity and the population ratio between the ground and the excited states by absorption coefficient measurement. The absolute value of the collisional lossrate coefficient of trapped ⁷Li atoms is determined by analyzing the temporal change of the fluorescence intensity when the supply of the Li beam is turned off.