Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Physics
Diode Lasers For Use In Experiments On Cold Rydberg Atoms, Bill Whitledge
Diode Lasers For Use In Experiments On Cold Rydberg Atoms, Bill Whitledge
Honors Theses
This project was to measure the atomic density of (85)Rb atoms in a magneto optical trap using a low-intensity probe laser. Additionally, a dark spontaneous force optical trap was constructed in an attempt to boost the trap density. The dark spot failed to appreciably increase the overall trap density (which remained steady at - N = 10^10 atoms/cm^3) but it did increase the density of dark-state atoms in the trap by an order of magnitude. This is a useful result since many experiments on cold Rydberg atoms involve exciting atoms starting in the ground state rather than the first excited …