https://doi.org/10.1007/s100530050154
Cooling mechanisms in potassium magneto-optical traps
1
INFM -Dipartimento di Fisica and European Laboratory for
Nonlinear Spectroscopy (L.E.N.S.),
Università di Firenze Largo E.
Fermi, 2, 50125 Firenze, Italy
2
Istituto di Elettronica
Quantistica, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche via Panciatichi
56/30, 50127 Firenze, Italy
Corresponding author: a fort@colonnello.lens.unifi.it
Received:
6
March
1998
Revised:
13
May
1998
Accepted:
13
May
1998
Published online: 15 August 1998
We report on a theoretical and experimental investigation of 39K magneto-optical trapping. The small hyperfine splitting characterizing the upper level of the cooling transition affects the cooling mechanism. In order to model the atom-laser interaction, the whole level structure of the D2 line has to be taken into account. Two different regimes have been recognized, one optimizing the loading of the trap, the second minimizing the temperature of the atoms. We investigated these two regimes experimentally and found results in agreement with the theoretical predictions.
PACS: 32.80.Pj – Optical cooling of atoms; trapping / 42.50.Vk – Mechanical effects of light on atoms, molecules, electrons, and ions
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag, 1998
