Calculating the diffusion coefficient for laser cooling of atoms with long-range collisions

Abstract
A calculation of the collisional diffusion coefficient is made which estimates the effect of collisions in an optical trap. The theory is based on the method of Gordon and Ashkin [Phys. Rev. A 21, 1606 (1980)] and incorporates the equations derived by Smith and Burnett [J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 8, 1592 (1991)] to describe the interaction of two two-level atoms in a laser field. Results are obtained by using a nearest-neighbor model for the collisions and suggest a definite relationship between atomic density and collisional diffusion.