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arXiv · 2308.00387

Loading of a large Yb MOT on the $^1$S$_0$-$^1$P$_1$ transition

Hector Letellier·Álvaro Mitchell Galvão de Melo·Anaïs Dorne·Robin Kaiser
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Abstract

We present an experimental setup to laser cool and trap a large number of Ytterbium atoms. Our design uses an oven with an array of microtubes for efficient collimation of the atomic beam and we implement a magneto-optical trap of $^{174}$Yb on the $^1$S$_0$-$^1$P$_1$ transition at 399nm. Despite the absence of a Zeeman slower, we are able to trap up to $N = 10^9$ atoms. We precisely characterize our atomic beam, the loading rate of the magneto-optical trap and several loss mechanisms relevant for trapping a large number of atoms.

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Hector Letellier, Álvaro Mitchell Galvão de Melo, Anaïs Dorne, Robin Kaiser. 2023-08-01. Loading of a large Yb MOT on the $^1$S$_0$-$^1$P$_1$ transition. https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.00387

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