Conclusions

This text has been devoted to providing a brief overview of Doppler cooling and the magneto-optic trap from the perspective of undergraduate research. From theory we have seen that there is a momentum transfer between photons and atoms through absorption, spontaneous emission, and stimulated emission. Combining these changes in atomic momentum with the corresponding rates of these events, a velocity and position dependent force could be applied to atoms. Given the correct configuration this force could be in the form of a cooling and trapping force.

Experimentally, measurements of filling, number, density, and temperature of a magneto-optic trap were reported. With a denser MOT there is the possibility to observe ultra-cold collisions between cesium atoms and study effects such as photoassociation.

Using Cool we have examined many aspects of laser cooling and trapping. These included: optical molasses, the dark MOT, the dark MOT vs. the light MOT, cooling and trapping with higher velocity atoms, effects of detuning, effects of the magnetic field gradient, the cooling rate, the equilibrium velocity distribution, and the motion of a single atom being cooled and trapped. The simulations presented in this text demonstrate the power of computers in research and teaching. This is especially true in the realm of undergraduate physics where the facilities for laser cooling and trapping are limited. Other features that could be added to Cool included: beam attenuation, atomic collisions, and sub-Doppler cooling mechanisms.