Abstract

Besides the suppression of the Doppler effect in optical spectroscopy laser cooling of free neutral atoms has enhanced by orders of magnitudes the time available for probing atomic particles. Ultra-slow atoms moving freely in the gravitational field have been used to realize Zacharias’ proposal of atomic fountains for Ramsey-type microwave spectroscopy.^[1] In addition, the capability of storing atoms for a long time paves the way for achieving high densities in atomic traps. The maximal density of laser cooled atoms is now mainly limited by light assisted atomic collision processes. To circumvent this limitation in density it has been recently proposed^[2] to confine the atomic motion by means of atomic mirrors formed by an evanescent laser wave, thereby minimizing the perturbation of the atoms by trapping fields.

© 1992 IQEC