Two-element Zeeman Slower for Rubidium and Lithium

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel two-element Zeeman slower that efficiently produces overlapped slow atomic beams of rubidium and lithium using a three-stage design optimized for different atomic masses.

Contribution

Introduction of a three-stage Zeeman slower capable of simultaneously decelerating rubidium and lithium atoms in a compact, robust setup.

Findings

Successful generation of overlapped slow beams of Rb and Li

Effective deceleration achieved for both elements with different mass ratios

Design demonstrates high fluxes of atoms in a simple apparatus

Abstract

We demonstrate a two-element oven and Zeeman slower that produce simultaneous and overlapped slow beams of rubidium and lithium. The slower uses a three-stage design with a long, low acceleration middle stage for decelerating rubidium situated between two short, high acceleration stages for aggressive deceleration of lithium. This design is appropriate for producing high fluxes of atoms with a large mass ratio in a simple, robust setup.