Analysis of Narrow-Line Laser Cooling and Trapping of Sr Atoms in Microgravity Environments

• Main Authors: Jie Ren, Hui Liu, Xiaotong Lu, Hong Chang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-07-01
• Series: Applied Sciences
• Subjects: lasering cooling and trapping; microgravity; Monte Carlo simulation; optical lattice clocks; in space
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/14/4928

Obtaining ultracold alkaline earth(-like) atoms in space encounters the problem of performing narrow-line laser cooling in microgravity environments (<inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mi mathvariant="sans-serif">μ</mi> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula>-gEs). This paper reports an analysis of the magneto-optical trap (MOT) based on the narrow-line transition in <inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <msup> <mrow></mrow> <mn>88</mn> </msup> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula>Sr, while paying special attention to the role of the gravity. This analysis suggests the MOTs based on narrow-line transitions cannot be cold and dense enough in a <inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mi mathvariant="sans-serif">μ</mi> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula>-gE. We thus propose a strategy: that one can use a dual-frequency MOT to realize a low-temperature, high density, and high transfer efficiency, narrow-line red MOT in <inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mi mathvariant="sans-serif">μ</mi> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula>-gEs.