We demonstrate three-dimensional (3-D) quenched narrow-line laser cooling and trapping of 40Ca. With 5 ms of cooling time we can transfer 28 % of the atoms from a magneto-optic trap based on the strong 423 nm cooling line to a trap based on the narrow 657 nm clock transition (that is quenched by an intercombination line at 552 nm), thereby reducing the atoms' temperature from 2 millikelvin to 10 microkelvin. This reduction in temperature should help reduce the overall systematic frequency uncertainty for our Ca optical frequency standard to < 1 Hz. Additional pulsed, quenched narrow-line third-stage cooling in 1-D yields sub-recoil temperatures as low as 300 nK, and makes possible the observation of high-contrast two-pulse Ramsey spectroscopic lineshapes.
We present a cooling method that should be generally applicable to atoms with narrow optical transitions. This technique uses velocity-selective pulses to drive atoms towards a zero-velocity dark state and then quenches the excited state to increase the cooling rate. We demonstrate this technique of quenched narrow-line cooling by reducing the 1-D temperature of a sample of neutral 40Ca atoms. We velocity select and cool with the 1S0(4s2) to 3P1(4s4p) 657 nm intercombination line and quench with the 3P1(4s4p) to 1S0(4s5s) intercombination line at 553 nm, which increases the cooling rate eight-…
In this paper laser cooling of atoms with a narrow-line optical transition, i.e. in regimes of quantum nature of laser-light interactions resulting in a significant recoil effect, is studied. It is demonstrated that a minimum laser cooling temperature for two-level atom in standing wave reached for red detuning close to 3 recoil frequency greatly different from the theory used for a semiclassical description of Doppler cooling. A set of dimensionless parameters uniquely characterizing the time evolution and the steady state of different atoms with narrow-line optical transitions in the laser f…
We propose and experimentally investigate a scheme for narrow-line cooling of KRb molecules in the rovibrational ground state. We show that the spin-forbidden $\mathrm{X^1Σ^+} \rightarrow \mathrm{b^3Π_{0^+}}$ transition of KRb is ideal for realizing narrow-line laser cooling of molecules because it has highly diagonal Franck-Condon factors and narrow linewidth. In order to confirm the prediction, we performed the optical and microwave spectroscopy of ultracold $^{41}$K$^{87}$Rb molecules, and determined the linewidth ($2π\times$ 4.9(4) kHz) and Franck-Condon factors for the $\mathrm{X^1Σ^+} (v…
The intercombination line of Strontium at 689nm is successfully used in laser cooling to reach the photon recoil limit with Doppler cooling in a magneto-optical traps (MOT). In this paper we present a systematic study of the loading efficiency of such a MOT. Comparing the experimental results to a simple model allows us to discuss the actual limitation of our apparatus. We also study in detail the final MOT regime emphasizing the role of gravity on the position, size and temperature along the vertical and horizontal directions. At large laser detuning, one finds an unusual situation where cool…
In addition to being suitable for laser cooling and trapping in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) using a relatively broad ($\sim$5 MHz) transition, the molecule YO possesses a narrow-line transition. This forbidden transition between the $X^{2}Σ$ and $A'^{2}Δ_{3/2}$ states has linewidth $\sim$2$π\times$160 kHz. After cooling in a MOT on the $X^{2}Σ$ to $A^{2}Π_{1/2}$ (orange) transition, the narrow (red) transition can be used to further cool the sample, requiring only minimal additions to the first stage system. The narrow line cooling stage will bring the temperature from $\sim$1 mK to $\sim$10 …
We experimentally and theoretically determine the magic wavelength of the (5$s^2$)$^{1}S_{0}$$-$(5$s$5$p$)$^{3}P_{0}$ clock transition of $^{111}$Cd to be 419.88(14) nm and 420.1(7) nm. To perform Lamb-Dicke spectroscopy of the clock transition, we use narrow-line laser cooling on the $^{1}S_{0}$$-$$^{3}P_{1}$ transition to cool the atoms to 6 $μ$K and load them into an optical lattice. Cadmium is an attractive candidate for optical lattice clocks because it has a small sensitivity to blackbody radiation and its efficient narrow-line cooling mitigates higher order light shifts. We calculate th…
We demonstrate for the first time the two-color cooling and trapping of alkaline-earth atoms in a grating magneto-optical trap (gMOT). The trap is formed by a single incident laser beam together with four secondary beams that are generated via diffraction from a nanostructured wafer. A grating structure for a gMOT operating with strontium atoms is optimized and fabricated. We trap $10^6$ $^{88}$Sr atoms on the $^1$S$_0$ $\rightarrow$ $^1$P$_1$ transition at $461\;\mathrm{nm}$ and transfer $25\;\%$ of these atoms to the second cooling stage on the narrower $^1$S$_0$ $\rightarrow$ $^3$P$_1$ inte…
We propose and demonstrate a novel laser cooling mechanism applicable to particles with narrow-linewidth optical transitions. By sweeping the frequency of counter-propagating laser beams in a sawtooth manner, we cause adiabatic transfer back and forth between the ground state and a long-lived optically excited state. The time-ordering of these adiabatic transfers is determined by Doppler shifts, which ensures that the associated photon recoils are in the opposite direction to the particle's motion. This ultimately leads to a robust cooling mechanism capable of exerting large forces via a weak …
Narrow line laser cooling is advancing the frontier for experiments ranging from studies of fundamental atomic physics to high precision optical frequency standards. In this paper, we present an extensive description of the systems and techniques necessary to realize 689 nm 1S0 - 3P1 narrow line cooling of atomic 88Sr. Narrow line cooling and trapping dynamics are also studied in detail. By controlling the relative size of the power broadened transition linewidth and the single-photon recoil frequency shift, we show that it is possible to continuously bridge the gap between semiclassical and q…
The laser cooling and trapping of ultracold neutral dysprosium has been recently demonstrated using the broad, open 421-nm cycling transition. Narrow-line magneto-optical trapping of Dy on longer wavelength transitions would enable the preparation of ultracold Dy samples suitable for loading optical dipole traps and subsequent evaporative cooling. We have identified the closed 741-nm cycling transition as a candidate for the narrow-line cooling of Dy. We present experimental data on the isotope shifts, the hyperfine constants A and B, and the decay rate of the 741-nm transition. In addition, w…
Doppler cooling on a narrow transition is limited by the noise of single scattering events. It shows novel features, which are in sharp contrast with cooling on a broad transition, such as a non-Gaussian momentum distribution, and divergence of its mean square value close to the resonance. We have observed those features using 1D cooling on an intercombination transition in strontium, and compared the measurements with theoretical predictions and Monte Carlo simulations. We also find that for a very narrow transition, cooling can be improved using a dipole trap, where the clock shift is cancel…
We present an efficient scheme to implement a gray optical molasses for sub-Doppler cooling of $^{6}$Li atoms with minimum experimental overhead. To integrate the $D_1$ light for the gray molasses (GM) cooling into the same optical setup that is used for the $D_2$ light for a standard magneto-optical trap (MOT), we rapidly switch the injection seeding of a slave laser between the $D_2$ and $D_1$ light sources. Switching times as short as $30\,μ\textrm{s}$ can be achieved, inferred from monitor optical beat signals. The resulting low-intensity molasses cools a sample of $N=9\times10^8$ atoms to…
Laser cooling on weak transitions is a useful technique for reaching ultracold temperatures in atoms with multiple valence electrons. However, for strongly magnetic atoms a conventional narrow-line magneto-optical trap (MOT) is destabilized by competition between optical and magnetic forces. We overcome this difficulty in Er by developing an unusual narrow-line MOT that balances optical and magnetic forces using laser light tuned to the blue side of a narrow (8 kHz) transition. The trap population is spin-polarized with temperatures reaching below 2 microkelvin. Our results constitute an alter…
We present an extensive study of the unique thermal and mechanical dynamics for narrow-line cooling on the 1S0 - 3P1 88Sr transition. For negative detuning, trap dynamics reveal a transition from the semiclassical regime to the photon-recoil-dominated quantum regime, yielding an absolute minima in the equilibrium temperature below the single-photon recoil limit. For positive detuning, the cloud divides into discrete momentum packets whose alignment mimics lattice points on a face-centered-cubic crystal. This novel behavior arises from velocity selection and "positive feedback" acceleration due…
We have used the narrow $2S_{1/2} \rightarrow 3P_{3/2}$ transition in the ultraviolet (uv) to laser cool and magneto-optically trap (MOT) $^6$Li atoms. Laser cooling of lithium is usually performed on the $2S_{1/2} \rightarrow 2P_{3/2}$ (D2) transition, and temperatures of $\sim$300 $μ$K are typically achieved. The linewidth of the uv transition is seven times narrower than the D2 line, resulting in lower laser cooling temperatures. We demonstrate that a MOT operating on the uv transition reaches temperatures as low as 59 $μ$K. Furthermore, we find that the light shift of the uv transition in …
We report on a narrow-linewidth cooling of $^{6}$Li atoms using the $2S_{1/2}\to 3P_{3/2}$ transition in the ultraviolet (UV) wavelength regime. By combining the traditional red magneto-optical trap (MOT) at 671 nm and the UV MOT at 323 nm, we obtain a cold sample of $1.3\times10^9$ atoms with a temperature of 58 $μ$K. Furthermore, we demonstrate a high efficiency magnetic transport for $^{6}$Li atoms with the help of the UV MOT. Finally, we obtain $8.1\times10^8$ atoms with a temperature of 296 $μ$K at a magnetic gradient of 198 G/cm in the science chamber with a good vacuum environment and l…
We report an experimental study of peak and phase-space density of a two-stage magneto-optical trap (MOT) of 6-Li atoms, which exploits the narrower $2S_{1/2}\rightarrow 3P_{3/2}$ ultra-violet (UV) transition at 323 nm following trapping and cooling on the more common D2 transition at 671 nm. The UV MOT is loaded from a red MOT and is compressed to give a high phase-space density up to $3\times 10^{-4}$. Temperatures as low as 33 $μ$K are achieved on the UV transition. We study the density limiting factors and in particular find a value for the light-assisted collisional loss coefficient of $1…
We present an efficient method for subrecoil cooling of neutral atoms by applying Raman cooling in 2D to a four-level tripod-system. The atoms can be cooled simultaneously in two directions using only three laser beams. We describe the cooling process with a simple model showing that the momentum distribution can be rapidly narrowed to velocity spread down to $0.1v_\text{rec}$, corresponding to effective temperature equal to $0.01T_\text{rec}$. This method opens new possibilities for cooling of neutral atoms.
We present our technique to create a magneto-optical trap for dysprosium atoms using the narrow-line cooling transition at 626$\,$nm to achieve suitable conditions for direct loading into an optical dipole trap. The magneto-optical trap is loaded from an atomic beam via a Zeeman slower using the strongest atomic transition at 421$\,$nm. With this combination of two cooling transitions we can trap up to $2.0\cdot10^8$ atoms at temperatures down to 6$\, μ$K. This cooling approach is simpler than present work with ultracold dysprosium and provides similar starting conditions for a transfer to an …
A novel laser cooling mechanism was recently demonstrated using a narrow-linewidth optical transition. Counter-propagating laser beams are swept in frequency to cause adiabatic transfer between a ground state and excited state, and Doppler shifts provide time-ordering that ensures the associated photon recoils oppose the particle's motion. We now expand this technique to $^{87}$Rb, which has no narrow-linewidth optical transition, by using artificially-narrow two-photon Raman transitions. The cooling mechanism is capable of exerting large forces to compress the phase-space of the atomic ensemb…
We present a narrow linewidth continuous laser source with over 11 Watts of output power at 780nm, based on single-pass frequency doubling of an amplified 1560nm fibre laser with 36% efficiency. This source offers a combination of high power, simplicity, mode quality and stability. Without any active stabilization, the linewidth is measured to be below 10kHz. The fibre seed is tunable over 60GHz, which allows access to the D2 transitions in 87Rb and 85Rb, providing a viable high-power source for laser cooling as well as for large-momentum-transfer beamsplitters in atom interferometry. Sources …
We study laser cooling of $^{24}$Mg atoms in dipole optical trap with pumping field resonant to narrow $(3s3s)\,^1S_0 \rightarrow \, (3s3p)\,^{3}P_1$ ($λ= 457$ nm) optical transition. For description of laser cooling of atoms in the optical trap with taking into account quantum recoil effects we consider two quantum models. The first one is based on direct numerical solution of quantum kinetic equation for atom density matrix and the second one is simplified model based on decomposition of atom density matrix over vibration states in the dipole trap. We search pumping field intensity and detun…
Narrow-line magneto-optical trap of titanium atoms
University of California, Berkeley（加州大学伯克利分校）；Challenge Institute for Quantum Computation（挑战量子计算研究所）；Joint Quantum Institute（联合量子研究所）；National Institutes for Standards and Technology（国家标准与技术研究院）；Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory（劳伦斯伯克利国家实验室）
Engineering controllable, strongly interacting many-body quantum systems is at the frontier of quantum simulation and quantum information processing. Arrays of laser-cooled neutral atoms in optical tweezers have emerged as a promising platform, because of their flexibility and the potential for strong interactions via Rydberg states. Existing neutral atom array experiments utilize alkali atoms, but alkaline-earth atoms offer many advantages in terms of coherence and control, and also open the door to new applications in precision measurement and timekeeping. In this work, we present a techniqu…
We demonstrate a high-flux and low transverse temperature atomic beam of ytterbium by applying two-dimensional cooling using the ${}^1\mathrm{S}_0\text{-}{}^3\mathrm{P}_1$ intercombination transition to the cold atomic beam produced by the dipolar-allowed ${}^1\mathrm{S}_0\text{-}{}^1\mathrm{P}_1$ transition. The optimized transverse temperature of $11 \pm 9\,\mathrm{μK}$ and an atomic flux of $(7.5 \pm 1.0) \times 10^8\,\mathrm{atoms/s}$ are obtained for the atomic beam whose longitudinal velocity is $30\,\mathrm{m/s}$. The transverse temperature is maintained below $23\,\mathrm{μK}$, while t…
We employ semiclassical theoretical analysis to study laser cooling of free atoms using three-level cascade transitions, where the upper transition is much weaker than the lower one. This represents an alternate cooling scheme, particularly useful for group II atoms. We find that temperatures below the Doppler limits associated with each of these transitions are expected. The lowest temperatures arise from a remarkable increase in damping and reduced diffusion compared to two-level cooling. They are reached at the two-photon resonance, where there is a crossing between the narrow and the parti…
We explore the possibility of decelerating and Doppler cooling of an ensemble of two-level atoms by a coherent train of short, non-overlapping laser pulses. We develop a simple analytical model for dynamics of a two-level system driven by the resulting frequency comb field. We find that the effective scattering force mimics the underlying frequency comb structure. The force pattern depends strongly on the ratio of the atomic lifetime to the repetition time and pulse area. For example, in the limit of short lifetimes, the frequency peaks of the optical force wash out. We show that laser cooling…
We propose a novel Sisyphus cooling scheme for atoms confined in a far off resonance optical dipole trap. Utilizing the differential trap-induced AC Stark shift, two electronic levels of the atom are resonantly coupled by a cooling laser preferentially near the trap bottom. After absorption of a cooling photon, the atom loses energy by climbing the steeper potential, and then spontaneously decays preferentially away from the trap bottom. The proposed method is particularly suited to cooling alkaline-earth-like atoms where two-level systems with narrow electronic transitions are present. Numeri…
We present a compact, two-stage atomic beam source that produces a continuous, narrow, collimated and high-flux beam of rubidium atoms with sub-Doppler temperatures in three dimensions, which features very low emission of near-resonance fluorescence along the atomic trajectory. The atom beam source originates in a pushed two-dimensional magneto-optical trap (2D$^+$ MOT) feeding a slightly off-axis three-dimensional moving optical molasses stage that continuously cools and redirects the atom beam. The capture velocity of the moving optical molasses is deliberately chosen to be low, $\sim 3$ m/s…
We demonstrate site-resolved imaging of individual bosonic $^{174}\mathrm{Yb}$ atoms in a Hubbard-regime two-dimensional optical lattice with a short lattice constant of 266 nm. To suppress the heating by probe light with the $^1S_0$-$^1P_1$ transition of the wavelength $λ$ = 399 nm for high-resolution imaging and preserve atoms at the same lattice sites during the fluorescence imaging, we simultaneously cool atoms by additionally applying narrow-line optical molasses with the $^1S_0$-$^3P_1$ transition of the wavelength $λ$ = 556 nm. We achieve a low temperature of $T = 7.4(1.3)\ μ\mathrm{K}$…
We report on the experimental realization of a robust and efficient magneto-optical trap for erbium atoms, based on a narrow cooling transition at 583nm. We observe up to $N=2 \times 10^{8}$ atoms at a temperature of about $T=15 μK$. This simple scheme provides better starting conditions for direct loading of dipole traps as compared to approaches based on the strong cooling transition alone, or on a combination of a strong and a narrow kHz transition. Our results on Er point to a general, simple and efficient approach to laser cool samples of other lanthanide atoms (Ho, Dy, and Tm) for the pr…
We report on the realization of a magneto-optical trap (MOT) for europium atoms using a narrow-line cooling transition with a natural linewidth of 97 kHz. Our starting point is continuous capturing and cooling of optically pumped metastable europium atoms. We have employed simultaneous MOT for the metastable and ground-state atoms. The trapped metastable atoms are successively pumped back to the ground state and then continuously loaded to the narrow-line MOT, where up to $4.7\times10^7$ atoms are captured. A spin-polarized sample at a temperature of $6\,\mathrm{μK}$ and with a peak number den…
We improve the efficiency of sawtooth-wave-adiabatic-passage (SWAP) cooling for strontium atoms in three dimensions and combine it with standard narrow-line laser cooling. With this technique, we create strontium magneto-optical traps with $6\times 10^7$ bosonic $^{88}$Sr ($1\times 10^7$ fermionic $^{87}$Sr) atoms at phase-space densities of $2\times 10^{-3}$ ($1.4\times 10^{-4}$). Our method is simple to implement and is faster and more robust than traditional cooling methods.
Deep laser cooling of atoms, ions, and molecules facilitates the study of fundamental physics as well as applied research. In this work, we report on the narrow-line laser cooling of thulium atoms at the wavelength of $506.2\,\textrm{nm}$ with the natural linewidth of $7.8\,\textrm{kHz}$, which widens the limits of atomic cloud parameters control. Temperatures of about $400\,\textrm{nK}$, phase-space density of up to $3.5\times10^{-4}$ and $2\times10^6$ number of trapped atoms were achieved. We have also demonstrated formation of double cloud structure in an optical lattice by adjusting parame…
The wave function of a moderately cold atom in a stationary near-resonant standing light wave delocalizes very fast due to wave packet splitting. However, we show that frequency modulation of the field may suppress packet splitting for some atoms having specific velocities in a narrow range. These atoms remain localized in a small space for a long time. We demonstrate and explain this effect numerically and analytically. Also we demonstrate that modulated field can not only trap, but also cool the atoms. We perform a numerical experiment with a large atomic ensebmble having wide initial veloci…
We reported a detailed experimental study of the cold collision of Barium monofluoride (BaF) with buffer gas and the high-resolution spectroscopy relevant with direct laser cooling. BaF molecules are efficiently produced with laser ablation and buffer-gas cooled in a cryogenic apparatus. The laser cooling relevant transition $|X^2Σ, v=0, N=1\rangle$ to $|A^2Π, v'=0, J'=1/2\rangle$ is identified. The collision cross section with buffer gas is measured to be $1.4(7)\times10^{-14} cm^{-2}$, which is very suitable for buffer gas cooling. Both rotational and vibrational temperatures are effectively…
We investigate cooling mechanisms in magneto-optically and magnetically trapped erbium. We find efficient sub-Doppler cooling in our trap, which can persist even in large magnetic fields due to the near degeneracy of two Lande g factors. Furthermore, a continuously loaded magnetic trap is demonstrated where we observe temperatures below 25 microkelvin. These favorable cooling and trapping properties suggest a number of scientific possibilities for rare-earth atomic physics, including narrow linewidth laser cooling and spectroscopy, unique collision studies, and degenerate bosonic and fermionic…
We provide a theoretical analysis for a recently demonstrated cooling method. Two-level particles undergo successive adiabatic transfers upon interaction with counter-propagating laser beams that are repeatedly swept over the transition frequency. We show that particles with narrow linewidth transitions can be cooled to near the recoil limit. This cooling mechanism has a reduced reliance on spontaneous emission compared to Doppler cooling, and hence shows promise for application to systems lacking closed cycling transitions, such as molecules.
By employing the equivalent of a knife-edge measurement for matter-waves, we are able to characterize ultra-low momentum widths. We measure a momentum width corresponding to an effective temperature of 0.9 $\pm$ 0.2 nK, limited only by our cooling performance. To achieve similar resolution using standard methods would require hundreds of milliseconds of expansion or Bragg beams with tens of Hz frequency stability. Furthermore, we show evidence of tunneling in a 1D system when the "knife-edge" barrier is spatially thin. This method is a useful tool for atomic interferometry and for other areas …
We propose and demonstrate the laser cooling and trapping of Rydberg-dressed Sr atoms. By off-resonantly coupling the excited state of a narrow (7 kHz) cooling transition to a high-lying Rydberg state, we transfer Rydberg properties such as enhanced electric polarizability to a stable magneto-optical trap operating at $< 1 μK$. By increasing the density to $1 \times 10^{12} \rm{cm^{-3}}$, we show that it is possible to reach a regime where the long-range interaction between Rydberg-dressed atoms becomes comparable to the kinetic energy, opening a route to combining laser cooling with tunable l…
We show that it is possible to cool interacting pairs of atoms by a lin $\perp$ lin Sisyphus-like laser cooling scheme using counter-propagating photoassociation (PA) lasers. It is shown that the center-of-mass motion (c.m.) of atom pairs can be trapped in molecular spin-dependent periodic potentials generated by the lasers. The proposed scheme is most effective for narrow-line PA transitions. We illustrate this with numerical calculations using fermionic $^{171}$Yb atoms as an example.
We present measurements of the hyperfine coefficients and isotope shifts of the Dy I $683.731 $nm transition, using saturated absorption spectroscopy on an atomic beam. A King Plot is drawn resulting in an updated value for the specific mass shift $δν_\mathrm{684,sms}^\mathrm{164-162}=-534 \pm 17 MHz$. Using fluorescence spectroscopy we measure the excited state lifetime $τ_{684}=1.68(5) μ$s, yielding a linewidth of $γ_\mathrm{684} = 95 \pm 3 kHz$. We give an upper limit to the branching ratio between the two decay channels from the excited state showing that this transition is useable for opt…
We describe an experimental setup for producing a large cold erbium (Er) sample in a narrow-line magneto-optical trap (MOT) in a simple and efficient way. We implement a pair of angled slowing beams with respect to the Zeeman slower axis, and further slow down atoms exiting from the Zeeman slower. The second-stage slowing beams enable the narrow-line MOT to trap atoms exiting from the Zeeman slower with higher velocity. This scheme is particularly useful when the Zeeman slower is at low optical power without the conventional transverse cooling between an oven and a Zeeman slower, in which case…
We report on Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) in a gas of strontium atoms, using laser cooling as the only cooling mechanism. The condensate is formed within a sample that is continuously Doppler cooled to below 1\muK on a narrow-linewidth transition. The critical phase-space density for BEC is reached in a central region of the sample, in which atoms are rendered transparent for laser cooling photons. The density in this region is enhanced by an additional dipole trap potential. Thermal equilibrium between the gas in this central region and the surrounding laser cooled part of the cloud is es…
Many predictions of Doppler cooling theory of two-level atoms have never been verified in a three-dimensional geometry, including the celebrated minimum achievable temperature $\hbar Γ/2 k_B$, where $Γ$ is the transition linewidth. Here, we show that, despite their degenerate level structure, we can use Helium-4 atoms to achieve a situation in which these predictions can be verified. We make measurements of atomic temperatures, magneto-optical trap sizes, and the sensitivity of optical molasses to a power imbalance in the laser beams, finding excellent agreement with the Doppler theory. We sho…
We report on the generation of 500 mW of spectrally pure laser light at the 460.86 nm transition used for laser cooling of strontium atoms. To this end we inject a high power single mode laser diode with light from a stabilized extended cavity diode laser. To optimize and monitor the injection status and the spectral purity of the slave diode we developed a novel technique that uses a single passive optical element. A narrow band interference filter generates a suitable monitoring signal without any additional electronics for post processing of the data. Our method greatly simplifies the daily…
Alkaline earth monoalkoxide free radicals (MORs) have molecular properties conducive to direct laser cooling to sub-millikelvin temperatures. Using dispersed laser induced fluorescence (DLIF) measurements from a pulsed supersonic molecular beam source we determine vibrational branching ratios and Franck-Condon factors for the MORs CaOH and CaOCH$_{3}$. With narrow linewidth continuous-wave dye laser excitation, we precisely measure fluorescence branching for both $\tilde{X}-\tilde{A}$ and $\tilde{X}-\tilde{B}$ electronic systems in each molecule. Weak symmetry-forbidden decays to excited bendi…
From the study of long-range-interacting systems to the simulation of gauge fields, open-shell Lanthanide atoms with their large magnetic moment and narrow optical transitions open novel directions in the field of ultracold quantum gases. As for other atomic species, the magneto-optical trap (MOT) is the working horse of experiments but its operation is challenging, due to the large electronic spin of the atoms. Here we present an experimental study of narrow-line Dysprosium MOTs. We show that the combination of radiation pressure and gravitational forces leads to a spontaneous polarization of…
