Eur. Phys. J. D 7, 373-377 (1999)
https://doi.org/10.1007/s100530050581

Trapping and cooling cesium atoms in a speckle field

Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, Département de physique de l'École Normale Supérieure, 24 rue Lhomond, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France

Received: 16 December 1998
Revised: 16 April 1999
Published online: 15 October 1999

Abstract

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.