Abstract: An optical trap for laser cooling and trapping atoms. Three pairs of laser beams are directed to cross in a vacuum chamber at a common intersection volume, wherein each pair is formed by two counterpropagating beams. Rather than having a mutually orthogonal arrangement in which each beam pair forms an angle ? of 45° to a reference axis, z, these angles are instead between 5°???40°. Moreover, in each beam pair, the counterpropagating beams are not precisely aligned in a common path, as in a conventional magneto-optical trap, but are slightly misaligned by respective misalignment angles [?, ?, ?] of typically 0.1° to 2°. The misalignment angles and beam widths are however selected so that a common intersection volume for all six beams is maintained. This provides an all-optical trap in which laser cooling and trapping of atoms takes place without a magnetic field being present.

Abstract: An optical trap for laser cooling and trapping atoms. Three Z pairs of laser beams are directed to cross in a vacuum chamber at a common intersection volume, wherein each pair is formed by two counterpropagating beams. Rather than having a mutually orthogonal arrangement in which each beam pair forms an angle ? of 45° to a reference axis, z, these angles are instead between 5°???40°. Moreover, in each beam pair, the counterpropagating beams are not precisely aligned in a common path, as in a conventional magneto-optical trap, but are slightly misaligned by respective misalignement angles [?, ?, ?] of typically 0.1° to 2°. The misalignment angles and beam widths are however selected so that a common intersection volume for all six beams is maintained This provides an all-optical trap in which laser cooling and trapping of atoms takes place without a magnetic field being present.

Abstract: An optical trap for laser cooling and trapping atoms. Three pairs of laser beams are directed to cross in a vacuum chamber at a common intersection volume, wherein each pair is formed by two counterpropagating beams. Rather than having a mutually orthogonal arrangement in which each beam pair forms an angle ? of 45° to a reference axis, z, these angles are instead between 5°???40°. Moreover, in each beam pair, the counterpropagating beams are not precisely aligned in a common path, as in a conventional magneto-optical trap, but are slightly misaligned by respective misalignement angles [?, ?, ?] of typically 0.1° to 2°. The misalignment angles and beam widths are however selected so that a common intersection volume for all six beams is maintained This provides an all-optical trap in which laser cooling and trapping of atoms takes place without a magnetic field being present.