Sub-Doppler laser cooling of metastable He
Journal Article
·
· Bulletin of the American Physical Society
OSTI ID:281532
We have observed magnetically induced laser cooling (MILC) on the J = 1 {yields} 2 component of the 2{sup 3}S {yields} 2{sup 3}P transition at {lambda} = 1.083 {mu}m in metastable helium (He*). At low magnetic field the measured widths of our atomic velocity distributions are as narrow as 2{Dirac_h}k/M corresponding to a temperature {approx_equal} 3 {mu}K (1-D Doppler limit {approx_equal} 26 {mu}K). At higher fields ({approximately}150 mG) the velocity distribution splits into two peaks of sub-Doppler width whose separation is proportional to the Zeeman splitting. Our measurements are consistent with model calculations based on the time evolution of quantum density matrices. Our experiments explore the transition regime between the quantum mechanical and semiclassical models of momentum exchange in atom-light interactions because of the large ratio (0.4) of the recoil velocity {Dirac_h}k/M to the rms of the Doppler-limited velocity distribution {radical}{Dirac_h}{gamma}/3M for this transition. We use a supersonic LN{sub 2} cooled nozzle source excited by a dc discharge for He*, and we excite the 2{sup 3}P state with a home-built diode-laser-pumped LNA laser.
- OSTI ID:
- 281532
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9305421--
- Journal Information:
- Bulletin of the American Physical Society, Journal Name: Bulletin of the American Physical Society Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 38; ISSN BAPSA6; ISSN 0003-0503
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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