Generation of a cold pulsed beam of Rb atoms by transfer from a 3D magneto-optic trap

TL;DR

This paper presents a method to generate a cold, pulsed beam of rubidium atoms by transferring atoms from a magneto-optic trap using a two-beam technique, resulting in a Gaussian velocity distribution.

Contribution

The study introduces a two-beam transfer technique for improved atom beam quality from a MOT, with enhanced cooling by turning off the magnetic field.

Findings

Two-beam transfer yields a Gaussian velocity distribution.

Turning off the magnetic field enhances atom cooling.

The method effectively produces a cold pulsed atom beam.

Abstract

We demonstrate a technique for producing a cold pulsed beam of atoms by transferring a cloud of atoms trapped in a three dimensional magneto-optic trap (MOT). The MOT is loaded by heating a getter source of Rb atoms. We show that it is advantageous to transfer with two beams (with a small angle between them) compared to a single beam, because the atoms stop interacting with the beams in the two-beam technique, which results in a Gaussian velocity distribution. The atoms are further cooled in optical molasses by turning off the MOT magnetic field before the transfer beams are turned on.