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Investigation of sub-Doppler cooling in an ytterbium magneto-optical trap

R. Maruyama, R. H. Wynar, M. V. Romalis, A. Andalkar, M. D. Swallows, C. E. Pearson, and E. N. Fortson
Phys. Rev. A 68, 011403(R) – Published 25 July 2003
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Abstract

We report experimental evidence of Sisyphus cooling in atoms with a 1S0 ground state. Since J=0, any cooling mechanism which requires multiple sublevels can only occur in the isotopes which have nuclear spin I0. Ytterbium has seven stable isotopes and offers a unique system in which we can study cooling on F=01 (168,170,172,174,176Yb), F=1/23/2 (171Yb), and F=5/27/2 (173Yb), depending on the selection of isotope. We have trapped each of the seven stable isotopes of ytterbium in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) using the strong 1S01P1 transition, and transferred them into a second MOT which uses the much narrower 1S03P1 intercombination transition. We have measured the temperature of isotopes 171Yb, 173Yb, and 174Yb in the 1S03P1 MOT, as a function of the intensity and detuning of the trapping laser. The temperature of 174Yb was found to increase more rapidly with intensity than predicted by Doppler cooling theory, in agreement with earlier work on alkaline-earth atoms. In the odd isotopes the temperature was found to decrease with increasing angular momentum, as observed in earlier experiments and three-dimensional simulations.

  • Received 20 March 2003

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.68.011403

©2003 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

R. Maruyama*, R. H. Wynar, M. V. Romalis, A. Andalkar, M. D. Swallows, C. E. Pearson, and E. N. Fortson

  • Department of Physics, Box 351560, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-1560, USA

  • *Email address: reinam@u.washington.edu
  • Present address: Princeton University, Jadwin Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
  • Email address: fortson@phys.washington.edu; URL: http://www.phys.washington.edu/fortson/

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Vol. 68, Iss. 1 — July 2003

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