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Experiments to Control Atom Number and Phase-Space Density in ...

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esidual potentials besides gravitation can lead <strong>to</strong> errors <strong>in</strong> the measured magnification.<br />

In addition, the determ<strong>in</strong>ation of the center of mass of the a<strong>to</strong>mic cloud is not always<br />

trivial, especially if the a<strong>to</strong>ms are exp<strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>g as quickly as they do <strong>in</strong> a lithium MOT. A<br />

different method is therefore used <strong>in</strong> this experiment. A tightly collimated resonant laser<br />

beam (waist w0 ≪ 1 mm), travel<strong>in</strong>g perpendicular <strong>to</strong> the imag<strong>in</strong>g axis, is aligned <strong>to</strong> the<br />

center of the MOT. A<strong>to</strong>ms are loaded <strong>in</strong><strong>to</strong> the MOT. The MOT beams <strong>and</strong> the magnetic<br />

field gradients are then turned off so that the a<strong>to</strong>ms exp<strong>and</strong>. The resonant laser beam is<br />

pulsed <strong>and</strong> the fluorescent signal recorded. The laser beam is then translated vertically<br />

by a known amount, <strong>and</strong> a second image is taken. The fluorescence signal recorded by<br />

the camera moves by the same amount by which the laser was translated. Do<strong>in</strong>g this<br />

measurement for multiple vertical positions, one can easily determ<strong>in</strong>e the magnification<br />

of the imag<strong>in</strong>g system.<br />

148

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