Narrow line laser cooling of lithium: A new tool for all-optical production of a degenerate Fermi gas

[摘要] We have used the narrow 2 S 1/2 [arrow right] 3 P 3/2 transition in the ultraviolet (UV) to laser cool and magneto-optically trap (MOT) 6 Li atoms. Laser cooling of lithium atoms is usually performed on the 2 S 1/2 [arrow right] 2 P 3/2 (D2) transition, where temperatures of twice the Doppler limit, or ∼300 μ K for lithium, are achieved. The linewidth of the UV transition is seven times narrower than the D2 line, resulting in a lower Doppler limit. We show that a MOT operating on the UV transition reaches temperatures as low as 59 μ K. We load 6 million atoms from this UV MOT into a 1070 nm optical dipole trap (ODT). We show that the light shift of the UV transition in the ODT is small and blue-shifted, facilitating efficient loading. Evaporative cooling of a two spin-state mixture of 6 Li in the ODT produces a quantum degenerate Fermi gas with 3 million atoms in only 11 seconds.

[发布机构] Rice University

[效力级别] sciences