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Physical review letters, 2007•APS
We have demonstrated Zeeman slowing and capture of neutral Ra 225 and Ra 226 atoms in
a magneto-optical trap. The intercombination transition S 0 1→ P 1 3 is the only quasicycling
transition in radium and was used for laser-cooling and trapping. Repumping along the D 1
3→ P 1 1 transition extended the lifetime of the trap from milliseconds to seconds. Room-
temperature blackbody radiation was demonstrated to provide repumping from the
metastable P 0 3 level. We measured the isotope shift and hyperfine splittings on the D 1 3→ …
a magneto-optical trap. The intercombination transition S 0 1→ P 1 3 is the only quasicycling
transition in radium and was used for laser-cooling and trapping. Repumping along the D 1
3→ P 1 1 transition extended the lifetime of the trap from milliseconds to seconds. Room-
temperature blackbody radiation was demonstrated to provide repumping from the
metastable P 0 3 level. We measured the isotope shift and hyperfine splittings on the D 1 3→ …
We have demonstrated Zeeman slowing and capture of neutral and atoms in a magneto-optical trap. The intercombination transition is the only quasicycling transition in radium and was used for laser-cooling and trapping. Repumping along the transition extended the lifetime of the trap from milliseconds to seconds. Room-temperature blackbody radiation was demonstrated to provide repumping from the metastable level. We measured the isotope shift and hyperfine splittings on the transition with the laser-cooled atoms, and set a limit on the lifetime of the level based on the measured blackbody repumping rate. Laser-cooled and trapped radium is an attractive system for studying fundamental symmetries.
American Physical Society