Single-Photon Atomic Cooling - Raizen Lab - The University of ...
Single-Photon Atomic Cooling - Raizen Lab - The University of ...
Single-Photon Atomic Cooling - Raizen Lab - The University of ...
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pled cooled with optical molasses to be much colder than the lower bound set<br />
by theory [11] (See Sec. 1.6 for a discussion <strong>of</strong> the use <strong>of</strong> “temperature” in this<br />
context). This conflict was a result <strong>of</strong> the assumption made in theoretical de-<br />
scriptions <strong>of</strong> the process which modeled the atom as a purely two-level system,<br />
devoid <strong>of</strong> magnetic substructure. An improved theory, including magnetic sub-<br />
structure, was developed by C. Cohen-Tannoudji and J. Dalibard in 1989 [12]<br />
and it resolved the discrepancy between theory and experiment and placed a<br />
new and much colder lower bound temperature, the recoil temperature Tr, on<br />
optical molasses. <strong>The</strong>se achievements resulted in tremendous interest in laser<br />
based atomic cooling methods and resulted in a Nobel prize awarded to Steven<br />
Chu, Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, and William D. Phillips in 1997.<br />
1.2 Laser <strong>Cooling</strong> as an Enabling Tool<br />
Laser cooling <strong>of</strong> atomic vapors has served as a technique which has<br />
enabled the study <strong>of</strong> more idealized physical systems, expanding and refining<br />
scientific knowledge in a vast amount <strong>of</strong> areas. Laser cooling made possible the<br />
creation and study <strong>of</strong> Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) <strong>of</strong> dilute atomic vapors<br />
[13–15]. It plays a central role in the latest generation <strong>of</strong> atomic fountain<br />
clocks [16] and has made possible the creation <strong>of</strong> optical frequency standards<br />
[17]. <strong>The</strong> study <strong>of</strong> cold atomic collisions, nonlinear optical effect and basic<br />
quantum mechanical phenomena have greatly benefited from the ability to<br />
cool atoms. Precision spectroscopic investigations <strong>of</strong> the energy structure <strong>of</strong><br />
atoms have benefited tremendously from the ability to trap and cool atomic<br />
4