Hoth, G.
, Donley, E.
and Kitching, J.
(2013),
Atom numbers in magneto-optic traps with millimeter scale laser beams, Optics Letters, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=912925
(Accessed October 10, 2025)
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Atom numbers in magneto-optic traps with millimeter scale laser beams
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Abstract
We measure the number of atoms, N, that can be trapped in a conventional vapor cell MOT using beams that have a diameter d in the range 1-5 mm. We show that the N \propto d3.6 scaling law observed for larger MOTs is a robust approximation for optimized MOTs with beam diameters as small as $d\approx2$~mm. For smaller beams, the description of the scaling depends on how $d$ is defined. We suggest that to accurately describe the capture volume at high intensities, $d$ should be defined as the diameter where the intensity falls to $I=Isat . Using this definition, we find that $N$ scales as d6 for dCitation
Optics Letters
Volume
38
Issue
5
Pub Type
Journals
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Keywords
laser cooling and trapping, magneto-optical trap (MOT)
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Created February 22, 2013, Updated February 19, 2017