Numerical modeling of collisional dynamics of Sr in an optical dipole trap

TL;DR

This paper presents a numerical model for simulating collisional dynamics of strontium atoms in optical dipole traps, applicable to complex trap geometries and small trap depth-to-temperature ratios, validated with experimental data.

Contribution

It introduces a versatile numerical approach for modeling inelastic and elastic collisions in optical traps with minimal symmetry assumptions, validated against experimental results.

Findings

Simulation results agree with experimental data for Sr isotopes.

Model effectively captures collisional effects in complex trap geometries.

Applicable to traps with low symmetry and small depth-to-temperature ratios.

Abstract

We describe a model of inelastic and elastic collisional dynamics of atoms in an optical dipole trap that utilizes numerical evaluation of statistical mechanical quantities and numerical solution of equations for the evolution of number and temperature of trapped atoms. It can be used for traps that possess little spatial symmetry and when the ratio of trap depth to sample temperature is relatively small. We compare simulation results with experiments on $^{88}$Sr and $^{84}$Sr, which have well-characterized collisional properties.