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arXiv · 1706.04807

Quantitative simulation of a magneto-optical trap operating near the photon recoil limit

Ryan K. Hanley·Paul Huillery·Niamh C. Keegan·Alistair D. Bounds·R. Faoro·Matthew P. A. Jones
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Abstract

We present a quantitative model for magneto-optical traps operating on narrow transitions, where the transition linewidth and the recoil shift are comparable. We combine a quantum treatment of the light scattering process with a Monte-Carlo simulation of the atomic motion. By comparing our model to an experiment operating on the $5\rm{s}^2~^1\rm{S}_0 \rightarrow 5\rm{s}5\rm{p}~^3\rm{P}_1$ transition in strontium, we show that it quantitatively reproduces the cloud size, position, temperature and dynamics over a wide range of operating conditions, without any adjustable parameters. We also present an extension of the model that quantitatively reproduces the transfer of atoms into a far off-resonance dipole trap (FORT), highlighting its use as a tool for optimising complex cold atom experiments.

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Ryan K. Hanley, Paul Huillery, Niamh C. Keegan, Alistair D. Bounds, R. Faoro, Matthew P. A. Jones. 2017-06-15. Quantitative simulation of a magneto-optical trap operating near the photon recoil limit. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500340.2017.1401679

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