On slowdown of particles in a vacuum at their delocalization from an electromagnetic well with a depth decreasing with time

TL;DR

This paper proposes a method to significantly slow down particles in a vacuum by gradually decreasing the depth of an electromagnetic potential well, applicable to micro- and nanoparticles and potentially useful in high-resolution spectroscopy.

Contribution

It introduces a novel particle deceleration technique using a slowly decreasing electromagnetic well, analyzed through a one-dimensional model with potential applications in spectroscopy.

Findings

Particles can be slowed by decreasing the well depth over time.

The method is effective for particles with electric or magnetic dipole moments.

Potential applications include micro-particle mechanics and atom/molecule spectroscopy.

Abstract

The possibility of a significant slowdown of particles by removing them from a localized state in an electromagnetic potential well with a fixed spatial distribution is shown with a sufficiently slow decrease in the depth of this well with time. It is believed that the considered particles are in high vacuum conditions and forces acting on them are not dissipative, i.e. these particles move without friction. Depending on whether the particles have an electric (magnetic) dipole moment, a controlled electric (magnetic) field or nonresonant laser radiation can be used to slow them down in this way. A detailed analysis of the features and efficiency of the established particle deceleration mechanism was carried out on the example of the one-dimensional rectangular potential well based on simple mathematical relationships. The obtained results can be used in the mechanics of micro- and nanoparticles in high vacuum, and under certain conditions also in ultra-high resolution spectroscopy of atoms and molecules "cooled" by the proposed method.