Atomic funnel with evanescent light

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Abstract
We propose an atomic funnel composed of an evanescent-light mirror produced in a conical hollow prism. The funneling of cold Rb atoms released from a magneto-optical trap is simulated in the scheme of the evanescent-light-induced Sisyphus cooling for compensating the heating by gravity. A geometric method of the conversion of a Gaussian light beam into a doughnut-shaped light beam suitable for the atomic funnel is also experimentally demonstrated by means of a double-cone prism. Under the assumption of a proper optical intensity distribution over the inner surface of a specific conical hollow prism, the Monte Carlo simulation including the van der Waals interaction shows that a half of the released Rb atoms can be collected and the mean temperature of the collected atoms is low enough for the application to be guided with a bent hollow optical fiber.