Eur. Phys. J. D 44, 141-149 (2007)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2007-00144-3

Acceleration of cold Rb atoms by frequency modulated light pulses

¹ Research Institute for Particle and Nuclear Physics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 49, Budapest, 114, Hungary
² Research Institute for Technical Physics and Material Science of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 49, Budapest, 114, Hungary

Corresponding author: ^a bakos@rmki.kfki.hu

Received: 13 September 2006
Revised: 30 November 2006
Published online: 4 May 2007

Abstract

The displacement of Rb atoms in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) caused by the force of a finite time series of counter-propagating frequency modulated light pulse pairs is measured as a function of the chirp of the pulses. The frequency modulated light pulses induced ⁸⁵Rb 5²S_1/2 F=3 ↔  ⁸⁵Rb 5²P_3/2 F'=2, 3, 4 excitation and de-excitation of the atoms. The result of this excitation de-excitation process is a force causing the acceleration and, consequently, the displacement of the maximum of the spatial distribution of the trap atoms. The time dependence of the populations of the levels of the atom are calculated — including also the ⁸⁵Rb 5²S_1/2 F=2 and F'=1 states — as the result of the interaction with the finite train of counter propagating frequency modulated light pulses by the solution of the Bloch equations. As the result of the measurement the interval of the chirp of the frequency modulated light of given intensity where the transitions take place, are determined. The results of the experiment and the expectation on the basis of model calculations are in qualitative agreement.