Abstract
We have observed a new type of laser cooling1mainly based on stimulated emission, which can be much more efficient than the usual laser cooling, i.e., the so-called radiation pressure optical molasses. This cooling occurs in a strong laser standing wave, detuned blue with respect to the atomic resonance. The force exerted on the atom results from a coherent redistribution of photons between the two running waves forming the standing wave. The cooling process can also be seen in the dressed atom picture as a microscopic realization of the Sisyphus myth: the atoms in this diagram see more uphill parts than downhill parts.
© 1987 Optical Society of America
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