Abstract

The study of the motion of atoms in laser light has led to remarkable advances in atom cooling and trapping and has culminated in the emergence of atom optics as a new field of research. Atom optics is, in part, concerned with the manipulation of atomic motion in cavities and other types of confining structures. In the absence of laser light, the atom interacts with the vacuum fields that are constrained by the structure leading to two types of physical effects. Firstly, the spontaneous emission rate is modified to Γ(R) and secondly the atom experiences a van der Waals-type potential U_g(R). The motion is further altered when a cavity mode is excited. When the typical cavity dimensions are in the sub-wavelength range, it is often the case that spontaneous emission is mediated only by one or two possible modes, a factor that can have profound effects on the dynamics. We have examined the forces that act on the atom under these conditions and the manner in which such forces change with the state of motion when the atoms move in planar layered structures and in cylindrical structures.

© 1998 IEEE