Abstract
We present a short review of the essential techniques of cooling free atoms by resonant laser radiation. The different contributions to the light forces are explained and their application to the problem of damping the thermal motion of free atoms is described. Due to quantum mechanical fluctuations of the light force there exists a limit temperature for a given atomic transition. Deceleration of atomic beams by the radiation pressure demands techniques to maintain the resonance condition while the Doppler shift of the decelerated atom is rapidly changing. Radiation forces may serve to compress and deflect slow atomic beams as well as to trap cold atoms. The possible use of pulsed laser radiation is discussed.
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