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Experiments with Supersonic Beams as a Source of Cold Atoms

Experiments with Supersonic Beams as a Source of Cold Atoms

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to reduce the switching time <strong>as</strong> much <strong>as</strong> possible. The time varying potential adds<br />

significant complication, and numerical simulation is used to determine the energy<br />

lost by a hypothetical particle.<br />

Since the amount <strong>of</strong> kinetic energy lost by a particle depends on its position<br />

in the coil when the coil is switched <strong>of</strong>f, the timing <strong>of</strong> the coil switching is criti-<br />

cally important. Varying the switching time <strong>of</strong> a coil changes the velocity and thus<br />

the arrival time <strong>of</strong> the particles at the next coil. The switching times <strong>of</strong> the coils<br />

are calculated numerically by simulating the trajectory <strong>of</strong> a single particle traveling<br />

through the experiment. This particle is henceforth referred to <strong>as</strong> the synchronous<br />

atom or molecule, and can generally be thought <strong>of</strong> <strong>as</strong> being in the ph<strong>as</strong>e space center<br />

<strong>of</strong> the slowed bunch <strong>of</strong> atoms. The average initial velocity <strong>of</strong> the pulsed beam can<br />

be found before the start <strong>of</strong> the experiment by observing the beam <strong>with</strong> no magnetic<br />

fields present and simply calculating the velocity from the time <strong>of</strong> flight to the de-<br />

tector. The synchronous particle is then <strong>as</strong>signed this velocity <strong>as</strong> its initial velocity.<br />

The short opening time <strong>of</strong> the Even-Lavie supersonic nozzle means that the atoms<br />

leave the nozzle at a precise time, and so the time-<strong>of</strong>-flight me<strong>as</strong>urement <strong>of</strong> the ini-<br />

tial velocity <strong>of</strong> the beam is very precise. From this, the arrival time <strong>of</strong> the beam at<br />

the entrance <strong>of</strong> the coilgun can be computed e<strong>as</strong>ily and precisely, and the entire coil<br />

timing sequence can be referenced to the valve pulse.<br />

4.3.1 Ph<strong>as</strong>e Stability<br />

For an instantaneously switched coil, maximal slowing is achieved by switching<br />

the coil when the synchronous particle is at the peak field location. However, this is<br />

not the ideal position to switch a real coil for several re<strong>as</strong>ons. The first re<strong>as</strong>on is that<br />

a real coil will require some time to turn <strong>of</strong>f, and thus the switching position that<br />

imparts maximal slowing is moved towards the front <strong>of</strong> the coil (the direction from<br />

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