Kinetic theory of magneto-optical traps with finite-linewidth lasers - art. no. 063407

摘要

We generalize the kinetic theory of the magneto-optical trap (MOT) to investigate the finite-linewidth effect of cooling lasers. Our results confirm that the polarization-gradient cooling mechanism in the low-velocity domain of the MOT originates from a two-photon process and that the Doppler cooling mechanism in the high-velocity domain stems from a one-photon process. We find that, when we increase the linewidth of the cooling lasers, the cooling temperature increases monotonically and the atomic cloud radius initially decreases quadratically and later increases. [References: 13]