Cooling and Trapping of Atomic Strontium

Published

May 1, 2003

Author(s)

X Xu, T Loftus, John L. Hall, Alan Gallagher, Jun Ye

Abstract

We present a detailed investigation of the magneto-optical trap dynamics of alkarne-earth ⁸⁸Sr atoms. The experimental results establish a firm confirmation of the laser cooling dynamics predicted by Doppler theory in thecontext of a strictly two-level model. However, the temperature measurement implies additional heating mechanisms not accounted for by Doppler theory. To explore the feasibility of reaching quantum degeneracy ofalkaline-earth metals via evaporative cooling, we have demonstrated the first experimental realization of magnetic trapping of ⁸⁸Sr in a metastable state. Furthermore, the fermionic isotope, ⁸⁷Sr, is believed to be an ideal candidatefor a future high quality optical frequency standard owing its merit to the ease of cooling and the existence of an ultrahigh-Q optical transition. We present some preliminary results regarding sub-Doppler cooling of ⁸⁷Sr.

Citation

Journal of the Optical Society of America B-Optical Physics

Volume

20

Issue

No. 5

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

alkaline earth atom, cold collisions, Doppler cooling, magnetic trap, magneto-optical trap, optical frequency standard

Citation

Xu, X. , Loftus, T. , Hall, J. , Gallagher, A. and Ye, J. (2003), Cooling and Trapping of Atomic Strontium, Journal of the Optical Society of America B-Optical Physics (Accessed October 18, 2025)