Sub-Doppler laser cooling of potassium atoms

M. Landini, S. Roy, L. Carcagní, D. Trypogeorgos, M. Fattori, M. Inguscio, and G. Modugno
Phys. Rev. A 84, 043432 – Published 28 October 2011

Abstract

We investigate the sub-Doppler laser cooling of bosonic potassium isotopes, whose small hyperfine splitting has so far prevented cooling below the Doppler temperature. We find instead that the combination of a dark optical molasses scheme that naturally arises in this kind of system and an adiabatic ramping of the laser parameters allows us to reach sub-Doppler temperatures for small laser detunings. We demonstrate temperatures as low as 25±3 μK and 47±5 μK in high-density samples of the two isotopes 39K and 41K, respectively. Our findings should find application to other atomic systems.

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  • Received 12 July 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.84.043432

©2011 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

M. Landini1,2,3,*, S. Roy1, L. Carcagní1, D. Trypogeorgos1,†, M. Fattori1,2, M. Inguscio1,2, and G. Modugno1,2

  • 1LENS and Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Firenze, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
  • 2INFN, Sezione di Firenze, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
  • 3Dipartimento di fisica, Università di Trento, I-38123 Povo (Trento), Italy

  • *landini@science.unitn.it
  • Present address: Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PU, UK.

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Vol. 84, Iss. 4 — October 2011

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