An atomic beam of titanium for ultracold atom experiments

Area of Science:

• Atomic physics
• Laser cooling
• Vacuum technology

Background:

• Titanium (Ti) atomic beams are typically generated using Ti-sublimation pumps, common in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) systems.
• Optical pumping is crucial for preparing atoms in specific energy levels for laser cooling applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To generate an atomic beam of titanium (Ti) using a Ti-ball source.
• To optically pump the Ti atoms into a metastable state (3d3(4F)4s a5F5) for laser cooling.
• To characterize the properties of the metastable Ti atomic beam.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a "Ti-ball" Ti-sublimation pump to generate a titanium atomic beam.
• Employed optical pumping to transition Ti atoms into the metastable a5F5 state.
• Used laser fluorescence spectroscopy to measure atomic density and velocity distributions.

Main Results:

• Achieved a metastable atomic flux density of 4.3(2) × 10^9 s^-1 cm^-2.
• Measured a mean forward velocity of 773(8) m/s at 2.55 cm downstream.
• Observed a highly collimated beam with flux density falling off as 1/r due to optical pumping.

Conclusions:

• The Ti-ball source coupled with optical pumping provides an effective method for generating a metastable Ti atomic beam.
• The characterized beam properties are suitable for loading atoms into a magneto-optical trap.
• This technique offers a promising approach for laser cooling and trapping of titanium atoms.