Highly Excited Ultracold Atoms

Brigham Young University, Provo UT

Investigators

Abstract

This CAREER award supports a project that will develop a new laser cooling scheme for atomic calcium and apply this scheme to two emerging research topics. The new scheme enables polarization gradient cooling to 1 microKelvin and should allow temperatures 1000 times lower than that currently realized in laser cooled calcium. In collaboration with researchers at NIST-Boulder, the ultracold calcium atoms will be used in an improved optical clock frequency measurement. The atoms will also be used in experiments in dense Rydberg gases and ultracold, strongly coupled, two-component plasmas. The educational component of the activity, in addition to heavy involvement of undergraduate students in the research, will recruit local area secondary school physics teachers as summer research associates and involve them as direct participants in the research projects.