A metastable beam of titanium atoms for laser cooling
Abstract
This effort aims to extend the application of laser and evaporative cooling to a new family of elements, specifically to transition metal atoms in the titanium and iron groups. These atoms present new scientific opportunities in the study of quantum degenerate atomic gases, deriving from the non-spherical nature and controllable magnetism of the electronic ground state. A scheme is proposed wherein transition metal atoms are excited to a metastable state -specifically the a^5F5 atomic state - whereupon they can be subject to rapid laser cooling on cycling optical transitions with technologically accessible wavelengths. The specific goal of this Short Term Innovative Research (STIR) grant is to prepare and characterize a high-flux atomic beam of titanium atoms in this metastable state, opening the door to laser cooling, quantum degeneracy, and subsequent studies of atomic titanium, and establishing also the validity of similar methods to be applied to other elements - e.g. zirconium, hafnium, iron, ruthenium and osmium - in future work.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Feb 14, 2019
- Source ID
- W911NF1910017
Entities
People
- Dan Stamper-Kurn
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- United States Army
- University of California, Berkeley