Production of bright, cold beams for atomic collision experiments

Abstract

Laser manipulation techniques for neutral atoms can be used to produce atomic beams which are more intense, brighter and colder than can be achieved by any other means. These beams will have a tremendous impact on the experimental study of low‐energy atomic collisions. We first describe the design and operation of an intensifier for a thermal (axial velocity 600 m/s) beam of metastable neon atoms. The intensifier produces a gain in beam brightness of a factor 160 and a typical gain in usable flux of a factor 1400. Next, we discuss the design, construction and preliminary tests of a setup to produce an atomic beam which is slow and cold as well as bright and intense. The setup is expected to produce a beam of metastable atoms with an axial velocity of 100 m/s, a spread therein of 1.5 m/s, a diameter of 1 mm, a residual divergence of 1 mrad and a flux of 1012 atoms/s.