May Kim
&
Jonathan Trossman
Department of Physics & Astronomy
Northwestern University
Theory and Practice behind
Magneto-Optical Traps
Slowing down atoms and trapping them spatially has only been realized in the last twenty five years. With this new avenue for exporation, many theories that lacked experimental verification have been tested and continue to be tested, including experiments in Bose Einstein condensation and quantum information. We will present the fundamental physics behind magneto-optical trap (MOT). Starting from the two level system picture, we can calculate the optical force involved in laser cooling. Once atoms are collected in a region due to laser cooling, we show that magnets can be turned on to apply Zeeman effect and realize magneto optical trap.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010 at 12:00 PM
Room F235, Technological Institute
Refreshments are served at 11:30 PM
