COHERENT COOLING OF ATOMS IN A FREQUENCY-MODULATED STANDING LASER WAVE: WAVE FUNCTION AND STOCHASTIC TRAJECTORY APPROACHES
Argonov V.Yu.

Received: May 11, 2014

DOI: 10.7868/S0044451014110030

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The wave function of a moderately cold atom in a stationary near-resonant standing light wave delocalizes very fast due to wave packet splitting. However, we show that frequency modulation of the field can suppress packet splitting for some atoms whose specific velocities are in a narrow range. These atoms remain localized in a small space for a long time. We demonstrate and explain this effect numerically and analytically. We also demonstrate that the modulated field can not only trap but also cool the atoms. We perform a numerical experiment with a large atomic ensemble having wide initial velocity and energy distributions. During the experiment, most of atoms leave the wave while the trapped atoms have a narrow energy distribution.