Abstract

Spontaneous force light traps^1,2 have provided a way to obtain relatively deep static traps for neutral atoms. However, the usefulness of any such trap will depend strongly on the density of the trapped atoms. We have studied the collisions within such a trap which limit the atomic density. These collisions are of considerable interest in their own right because the temperatures of the trapped atoms (10⁻⁴ K) are far lower than in usual atomic collision experiments. As a result the collision times are very long, and the collision dynamics are dominated by long-range interactions and spontaneous emission.

© 1989 Optical Society of America