Magneto-optical trapping of Zinc

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the first magneto-optical trap of zinc atoms using a 213.9 nm transition, including all stable isotopes, paving the way for high-precision spectroscopy and quantum information applications.

Contribution

It reports the first laser cooling and MOT of zinc atoms at a short wavelength, including the fermionic isotope with potential for optical clocks.

Findings

Successfully trapped all stable zinc isotopes.

Characterized parameters affecting MOT population and loading.

First step towards zinc-based quantum technologies.

Abstract

We report on laser cooling and magneto-optical trapping of atomic zinc. The atoms are cooled using the 213.9\,nm $^1$S$_0$ $\rightarrow$ $^1$P$_1$ transition, making this the shortest wavelength employed for magneto-optical trapping thus far. We demonstrate trapping of all stable isotopes of zinc, including the fermionic isotope $^{67}$Zn, which features a very narrow $^1$S$_0$ $\rightarrow$ $^3$P$_0$ transition that could form the basis of an optical atomic clock. We characterize the influence of various parameters on the MOT population and loading rate. The results presented here constitute the first step towards the application of zinc for high-precision optical spectroscopy and quantum information processing.