Design and simulation of a source of cold cadmium for atom interferometry
arXiv:2306.00782
Abstract
We present a novel optimised design for a source of cold atomic cadmium, compatible with continuous operation and potentially quantum degenerate gas production. The design is based on spatially segmenting the first and second-stages of cooling with the the strong dipole-allowed S-P transition at 229 nm and the 326 nm S-P intercombination transition, respectively. Cooling at 229 nm operates on an effusive atomic beam and takes the form of a compact Zeeman slower (5 cm) and two-dimensional magneto-optical trap (MOT), both based on permanent magnets. This design allows for reduced interaction time with the photoionising 229 nm photons and produces a slow beam of atoms that can be directly loaded into a three-dimensional MOT using the intercombination transition. The efficiency of the above process is estimated across a broad range of experimentally feasible parameters via use of a Monte Carlo simulation, with loading rates up to 10 atoms/s into the 326 nm MOT possible with the oven at only 100 C. The prospects for further cooling in a far-off-resonance optical-dipole trap and atomic launching in a moving optical lattice are also analysed, especially with reference to the deployment in a proposed dual-species cadmium-strontium atom interferometer.
16 pages, 12 figures, 3 tables