Presidential Young Investigator Award: Laser Cooling and Atom Trapping (Physics)

这个总统青年研究员奖涉及激光 冷却和原子俘获。 原子间的相互作用 将研究超低温。 具有足够 稠密而寒冷的气体，人们希望观察到集体原子 效应，特别是弱玻色-爱因斯坦凝聚 自旋为整数的相互作用粒子 有必要 最大化原子德布罗意布罗意比的设计方法 波长到原子间的分离，以提高 量子效应 锂将用于最初的 实验 原子会自旋排列，被困在一个磁场中， 场最小，在两个激光冷却步骤中冷却。 率 将测量陷阱内的非弹性碰撞过程。 然后，气体将在压缩机中进一步冷却和压缩。 试图观察玻色-爱因斯坦凝聚。

This Presidential Young Investigator Award concerns laser cooling and atom trapping. The interaction between atoms at ultra-low temperatures will be studied. With a sufficiently dense and cold gas one can hope to observe collective atomic effects, in particular a Bose-Einstein condensation of weakly interacting particles of integral spin. It is necessary to design approaches to maximize the ratio of atomic de Broglie wavelength to interatomic separation, in order to enhance the quantum effects. Lithium will be used in the initial experiments. Atoms will be spin-aligned, trapped in a magnetic field minimum, cooled in two laser cooling steps. The rates of inelastic collision processes within the trap will be measured. The gas will then be further cooled and compressed in the attempt to observe Bose-Einstein condensation.