Cooling, trapping, and storage of atoms by resonant laser fields

Abstract

Analysis of the possiblity of cooling, trapping, and storage of atoms in the resonant field of a laser standing wave is presented. Under certain regimes of frequency scanning the laser radiation can cool atoms in low-pressure gas to the temperature T ≃ 10⁻⁴−10⁻³ K. Because of gradient force effects, cooled atoms will be held in the light field for a long time. Joint cooling and storage of atoms in a resonant light field is important for spectroscopic studies with an extremely high sensitivity and resolution.