A cesium magneto-optical trap for cold collisions studies

Abstract

A cesium magneto-optical trap operating at a large atomic density in multiple scattering regime has been investigated. The trap operates with a large Rabi frequency for trapping lasers. The atomic number, the dimension of the atomic cloud, the atomic density, and the atomic temperature have been measured as a function of trap parameters. At different trap conditions, the product of the atomic number and of the atomic density, which determines the occurrence of collisional processes, has been also examined. Our results are interpreted on the basis of laser cooling processes.