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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2025
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.13764 |
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| _version_ | 1866918412014321664 |
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| author | Okamoto, Naohiro Sato, Takumi Aoki, Takatoshi Torii, Yoshio |
| author_facet | Okamoto, Naohiro Sato, Takumi Aoki, Takatoshi Torii, Yoshio |
| contents | We demonstrate direct loading of a strontium (Sr) magneto-optical trap (MOT) from a thermal atomic beam in a single-chamber vacuum system. The MOT operates without a Zeeman slower, a slowing laser, a two-dimensional MOT, or differential pumping, while the entire system is maintained in the ultra-high-vacuum regime by a single ion pump. At an oven temperature of $395\,\mathrm{{}^\circ C}$, the MOT captures up to $10^{7}$ ${}^{88}\mathrm{Sr}$ atoms with a loading rate of $10^{7}\,\mathrm{atoms\,s^{-1}}$, while sustaining a background gas pressure of $1 \times 10^{-9} \,\mathrm{Torr}$. At this oven temperature, the MOT lifetime limited by collisions with background gas is $\sim 5 \,\mathrm{s}$, with the atom number primarily constrained by light-assisted two-body collisions. Eliminating differential pumping and precooling stages significantly reduces the system's size, weight, and power requirements, providing a robust and practical platform for field-deployable and spaceborne optical lattice clocks, as well as a variety of other applications requiring compact ultracold atom sources. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_13764 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Direct loading of a Sr magneto-optical trap from a thermal atomic beam Okamoto, Naohiro Sato, Takumi Aoki, Takatoshi Torii, Yoshio Atomic Physics We demonstrate direct loading of a strontium (Sr) magneto-optical trap (MOT) from a thermal atomic beam in a single-chamber vacuum system. The MOT operates without a Zeeman slower, a slowing laser, a two-dimensional MOT, or differential pumping, while the entire system is maintained in the ultra-high-vacuum regime by a single ion pump. At an oven temperature of $395\,\mathrm{{}^\circ C}$, the MOT captures up to $10^{7}$ ${}^{88}\mathrm{Sr}$ atoms with a loading rate of $10^{7}\,\mathrm{atoms\,s^{-1}}$, while sustaining a background gas pressure of $1 \times 10^{-9} \,\mathrm{Torr}$. At this oven temperature, the MOT lifetime limited by collisions with background gas is $\sim 5 \,\mathrm{s}$, with the atom number primarily constrained by light-assisted two-body collisions. Eliminating differential pumping and precooling stages significantly reduces the system's size, weight, and power requirements, providing a robust and practical platform for field-deployable and spaceborne optical lattice clocks, as well as a variety of other applications requiring compact ultracold atom sources. |
| title | Direct loading of a Sr magneto-optical trap from a thermal atomic beam |
| topic | Atomic Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.13764 |