Intense source of cold cesium atoms based on a two-dimensional magneto–optical trap with independent axial cooling and pushing

We report our studies on an intense source of cold cesium atoms based on a two-dimensional（2D） magneto–optical trap（MOT） with independent axial cooling and pushing.The new-designed source,proposed as 2D-HP MOT,uses hollow laser beams for axial cooling and a thin pushing laser beam to extract a cold atomic beam.With the independent pushing beam,the atomic flux can be substantially optimized.The total atomic flux maximum obtained in the 2D-HP MOT is4.02 × 1010atoms/s,increased by 60 percent compared to the traditional 2D＋MOT in our experiment.Moreover,with the pushing power 10 μW and detuning 0Γ,the 2D-HP MOT can generate a rather intense atomic beam with the concomitant light shift suppressed by a factor of 20.The axial velocity distribution of the cold cesium beams centers at 6.8 m/s with an FMHW of about 2.8 m/s.The dependences of the atomic flux on the pushing power and detuning are studied in detail.The experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical model.

Coherent population trapping magnetometer by differential detecting magneto–optic rotation effect

A pocket coherent population trapping（CPT） atomic magnetometer scheme that uses a vertical cavity surface emitting laser as a light source is proposed and experimentally investigated.Using the differential detecting magneto–optic rotation effect,a CPT spectrum with the background canceled and a high signal-to-noise ratio is obtained.The experimental results reveal that the sensitivity of the proposed scheme can be improved by half an order,and the ability to detect weak magnetic fields is extended one-fold.Therefore,the proposed scheme is suited to realize a pocket-size CPT magnetometer.

Extending the trapping lifetime of single atom in a microscopic far-off-resonance optical dipole trap

In our experiment, a single cesium atom prepared in a large-magnetic-gradient magneto optical trap （MOT） can be efficiently transferred into a 1064-nm far-off-resonance microscopic optical dipole trap （FORT）. The efficient transfer of the single atom between the two traps is used to determine the trapping lifetime and the effective temperature of the single atom in FORT. The typical trapping lifetime has been improved from ~ 6.9 s to ~ 130 s by decreasing the background pressure from 1 × 10^-10 Torr to ~ 2 × 10^-11 Torr and applying one-shot 10-ms laser cooling phase. We also theoretically investigate the dependence of trapping lifetimes of a single atom in a FORT on trap parameters based on the FORT beam＇s intensity noise induced heating. Numerical simulations show that the heating depends on the FORT beam＇s waist size and the trap depth. The trapping time can be predicted based on effective temperature measurement of a single atom in the FORT and the intensity noise spectra of the FORT beam. These experimental results are found to be in agreement with the predictions of the heating model.