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Cold atoms by kinematic cooling

Journal Article · · Physical Review. A
; ;  [1]; ;  [2]
  1. Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)
  2. University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742 (United States)
We report the preparation and observation of translationally cold atoms using kinematic cooling. In these experiments, krypton atoms are cooled to subkelvin temperatures by elastic collisions in crossed atomic beams. Two independent velocity measurements indicate an upper-bound mean velocity of 13 m/s (E{sub trans}/k=850 mK) and are consistent with a much lower mean velocity of 4 m/s (E{sub trans}/k=80 mK) (k is Boltzmann's constant). The density of the cold atoms is measured to be 10{sup 9} atoms/cm{sup 3}. Scattering calculations and diffusion models support these velocity and density measurements. The results demonstrate that cold, dense samples of ground-state atoms and molecules can be prepared by elastic collisions between identical collision partners.
OSTI ID:
21450561
Journal Information:
Physical Review. A, Journal Name: Physical Review. A Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 82; ISSN 1050-2947; ISSN PLRAAN
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English