Magneto-Optical Trapping of Chromium Atoms

Published

May 1, 2000

Author(s)

C Bradley, Jabez J. McClelland, W Anderson, Robert Celotta

Abstract

We have constructed a magneto-optical trap for chromium atoms. Using trapping light at 425 nm and two repumping lasers tuned to intercombination transitions, over 10⁶ atoms were trapped and average densities of over 10¹⁶ m^-3 were obtained. Non-exponential loss of atoms is observed at high densities indicating inelastic collisions between trapped atoms. Over a range of trapping conditions, the density-dependent trap loss rate constant β is extracted from fluorescence decay curves and found to have values in the range of 10^-15m³s^-1,much larger than is observed in alkali traps.

Citation

Physical Review A (Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics)

Volume

61

Issue

053407

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

atom trapping, chromium, cold collisions, laser cooling, magneto-optic trap, MOT

Citation

Bradley, C. , McClelland, J. , Anderson, W. and Celotta, R. (2000), Magneto-Optical Trapping of Chromium Atoms, Physical Review A (Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics), [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=620518 (Accessed December 15, 2024)