Laser Cooling to a Single Quantum State in a Trap

Abstract
Laser cooling in a trap is investigated for configurations which allow the existence of "dark states" of the combined atom-plus-trap system, i.e., states which are decoupled from the laser light by quantum interference. Two examples of approximate dark states in a 1D flat bottom and 2D harmonic trap for angular momentum 1 to 1 transitions are discussed. A wave function simulation of the quantum master equation predicts that a significant fraction of the atoms are transferred to a single trap state.