Abstract
We report experimental evidence of Sisyphus cooling in atoms with a [Formula Presented] ground state. Since [Formula Presented] any cooling mechanism which requires multiple sublevels can only occur in the isotopes which have nuclear spin [Formula Presented] Ytterbium has seven stable isotopes and offers a unique system in which we can study cooling on [Formula Presented] [Formula Presented] [Formula Presented] [Formula Presented] and [Formula Presented] [Formula Presented] depending on the selection of isotope. We have trapped each of the seven stable isotopes of ytterbium in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) using the strong [Formula Presented] transition, and transferred them into a second MOT which uses the much narrower [Formula Presented] intercombination transition. We have measured the temperature of isotopes [Formula Presented] [Formula Presented] and [Formula Presented] in the [Formula Presented] MOT, as a function of the intensity and detuning of the trapping laser. The temperature of [Formula Presented] was found to increase more rapidly with intensity than predicted by Doppler cooling theory, in agreement with earlier work on alkaline-earth atoms. In the odd isotopes the temperature was found to decrease with increasing angular momentum, as observed in earlier experiments and three-dimensional simulations.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 4 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Journal | Physical Review A - Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics |
| Volume | 68 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2003 |
| Externally published | Yes |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics