A theoretical discussion of laser cooling of multilevel atomic systems using intense, blue detuned laser beams is given. A method based on matrix continued fractions is presented, which enables the efficient calculation of the semi-classical force on a multilevel system. The method is applied to a three-level system driven by one standing wave and one travelling wave. The force curves obtained exhibit strong cooling features. Cooling of the three-level system is simulated using the fully quantum mechanical Monte Carlo wave function technique. The simulation predicts efficient cooling to sub-Doppler temperatures. The three-level model is related to a multilevel cooling experiment performed on $\sp7$Li. The experimental results are found to be in reasonable agreement with the three-level model. However, a comparison of the simulation and experiment for a two-level atomic system reveals significant discrepancies, which raises questions about the model and experiment.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:RICE/oai:scholarship.rice.edu:1911/13890 |
| Date | January 1994 |
| Creators | Sackett, Charles Ackley |
| Contributors | Hulet, Randall |
| Source Sets | Rice University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Text |
| Format | 72 p., application/pdf |
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