Fluorescence during Doppler cooling of a single trapped atom

Published

November 26, 2007

Author(s)

Janus Wesenberg, Dietrich G. Leibfried, Brad R. Blakestad, Joseph W. Britton, Ryan Epstein, Jonathan Home, Wayne M. Itano, John D. Jost, Emanuel H. Knill, C. Langer, R. Ozeri, Signe Seidelin, David J. Wineland

Abstract

We investigate the temporal dynamics of Doppler cooling of a single trapped atom in the weak binding regime using a semi-classical model. We develop an analytical model for the simplest case of a single vibrational mode for a harmonic trap, and show how this model allows us to estimate the initial energy of the trapped particle by observing the fluorescence rate during the cooling process. The experimental implementation of this temperature measurement is relatively simple compared to conventional sideband detection methods, and the two methods are in reasonable agreement. We also discuss the effect of RF micromotion, relevant for a trapped atomic ion, and coupling between the vibrational modes on cooling dynamics.

Citation

Physical Review A (Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics)

Volume

76

Issue

053416

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

electrons, ions, mechanical effects of light on atoms, molecules, optical cooling of atoms, trapping

Citation

Wesenberg, J. , Leibfried, D. , Blakestad, B. , Britton, J. , Epstein, R. , Home, J. , Itano, W. , Jost, J. , Knill, E. , Langer, C. , Ozeri, R. , Seidelin, S. and Wineland, D. (2007), Fluorescence during Doppler cooling of a single trapped atom, Physical Review A (Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics), [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=50575 (Accessed October 9, 2025)