Doppler cooling is a mechanism that can be used to trap and slow the motion of atoms to cool a substance.
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Doppler cooling is a mechanism that can be used to trap and slow the motion of atoms to cool a substance.
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Doppler cooling was simultaneously proposed by two groups in 1975, the first being David J Wineland and Hans Georg Dehmelt and the second being Theodor W Hansch and Arthur Leonard Schawlow.
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One conceptually simple form of Doppler cooling is referred to as optical molasses, since the dissipative optical force resembles the viscous drag on a body moving through molasses.
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Doppler cooling involves light with frequency tuned slightly below an electronic transition in an atom.
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At equilibrium, the heating and Doppler cooling rates are equal, which sets a limit on the amount by which the atom can be cooled.
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Doppler cooling limit has been verified with a gas of metastable helium.
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Temperatures well below the Doppler limit have been achieved with various laser cooling methods, including Sisyphus cooling and evaporative cooling.
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The theory of Doppler cooling assumes an atom with a simple two level structure, whereas most atomic species which are laser cooled have complicated hyperfine structure.
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Common laser-Doppler cooling configurations include optical molasses, the magneto-optical trap, and the Zeeman slower.
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Doppler cooling is used in spectroscopy and metrology, where cooling allows narrower spectroscopic features.
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