Narrow line cooling: finite photon recoil dynamics.
We present an extensive study of the unique thermal and mechanical dynamics for narrow-line cooling on the 1S0-3P1 88Sr transition. For negative detuning, trap dynamics reveal a transition from the semiclassical regime to the photon-recoil-dominated quantum regime, yielding an absolute minima in the equilibrium temperature below the single-photon-recoil limit. For positive detuning, the cloud divides into discrete momentum packets whose alignment mimics lattice points on a face-centered-cubic crystal. This novel behavior arises from velocity selection and "positive feedback" acceleration due to a finite number of photon recoils. Cooling is also achieved with blue-detuned light around a velocity where gravity balances the radiative force.
JILA, National Institute of Standards and Technology and University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0440, USA.
Thomas H
TH
Loftus
Tetsuya
T
Ido
Andrew D
AD
Ludlow
Martin M
MM
Boyd
Jun
J
Ye