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Simultaneous Trapping Of Rubidium And Metastable Argon In A Magneto-Optical Trap, C. I. Sukenik, H. C. Busch
Simultaneous Trapping Of Rubidium And Metastable Argon In A Magneto-Optical Trap, C. I. Sukenik, H. C. Busch
Physics Faculty Publications
We have simultaneously confined rubidium and metastable argon in a dual-species magneto-optical trap (MOT). Here a binary mixture of atomic species from different groups of the periodic table have been optically confined at ultracold temperatures. We describe the apparatus and characterize the individual, single species MOTs and the dual-species MOT. Both fluorescence and ion production are monitored. With both species trapped, we observe ~5106 85Rb atoms and ~2106 40Ar* atoms. Realization of the dual-species trap opens the way for detailed studies of Penning and associative ionization, photoassociative spectroscopy, and eventually for the production of bound, ultracold RbAr molecules.