Development of Laser Cooling, Trapping, and Doppler-free Saturated Absorption Experiments for Undergraduates

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A set of undergraduate laboratory experiments which duplicate current ongoing research activities and techniques in the field of atomic/laser physics will be developed. These experiments will use tuneable narrowband diode laser systems. The first experiment is the use of lasers to obtain very high resolution Doppler-free saturated absorption spectra in alkali vapor cells. The majority of the work will be the development of an inexpensive apparatus in which undergraduates can trap neutral atoms and cool them to temperatures on the order of a microkelvin. These experiments will be a slightly modified version of state-of-the-art experiments in laser cooling and trapping, and will be tested in an advanced lab course. The goal of the work will be the development of a very simple inexpensive apparatus which can be widely duplicated, and which will allow undergraduates to become involved in a current area of physics research.