Cesium atoms bouncing in a stable gravitational cavity
- 8 November 1993
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review Letters
- Vol. 71 (19) , 3083-3086
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.71.3083
Abstract
A curved mirror for atoms was made from an evanescent wave, formed by internal reflection of a quasiresonant laser beam at a curved glass surface. A cold cloud of cesium atoms was dropped onto the mirror and observed to rebound more than 8 times. The mirror size and reflectivity were studied, and reasonable agreement with a simple theory obtained. With 800 mW of laser power and a mirror of 1 mm diameter, we observed up to 73% of the atoms returning after each bounce, the losses being mostly during the free flight between bounces.Keywords
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