Experimental study demonstrates laser collimation of a chromium beam down to 0.16 mrad, highlighting the limits of low-excitation steady-state models.
We have studied laser collimation of a chromium atomic beam using a transverse polarization gradient cooling scheme. We present detailed measurements of the angular distribution of atoms on the beam axis, over a broad range of laser intensities and detunings, including those that produce significant excitation, and observe collimation angles as small as 0.16±{}0.01 mrad (50% quantile). We compare our results with existing calculations based on assumptions of steady-state conditions and low excited-state population.
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Scholten et al. (1997) studied this question.
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