Study of laser deceleration of an atomic beam by monitoring the fluorescence along the deceleration path

Abstract

We present a technique to study the laser deceleration of an atomic beam by monitoring the fluorescence along the deceleration path. Since the same laser is used to decelerate and observe the resulting slow atoms, the fluorescence signal is simply related to the number of atoms captured in the deceleration process, allowing a direct study of this process. The experimental data are in good agreement with the theoretical analysis, supporting the validity of the method. © 1989.