Computational Simulation of Laser Cooling and Trapping of Radium Atoms

Abstract

This research aimed to study a model of laser cooling and trapping of radium atoms and developing a system of governing equations in similar way to the well-known four-levels Maxwell Bloch system, and to present computational results for special solutions of four levels system along with steps for how this system can been cooled by laser using MATLAB program. The theory includes the mechanical light effect for atomic structure. The atomic decay time derived was determined according to the photon account. In this work MATLAB simulation of the atomic Liouville equation for spontaneous emissions was developed for laser cooling of radium atoms. The study followed the simulating solution of optical Bloch equations (OBEs) for four level system in an atom trap. Where the center of mass motion is described quantum mechanically. The results showed that the laser cooling approach to Maxwell's law, the reduction of the velocity leads to new distribution of velocities and the atoms moving towards the light source will resonate the light field (crossing resonance). In future, theoretical analysis shows that laser photons used for cooling atoms have velocity distribution that could be used to study many-body physics.