Toward magnetic trapping of isotopes of hydrogen

ORAL

Abstract

Over the past decades, spectroscopy of atomic hydrogen has enabled precision measurements of many fundamental physical quantities. While atomic hydrogen has previously been trapped, its heavier isotopes deuterium and tritium have not. One promising technique for obtaining these samples is magnetic deceleration of a supersonic beam, via an ``atomic coilgun.'' In this work, we present progress toward magnetically trapping deuterium in a simple room-temperature apparatus, which includes the coilgun and a solid-state laser system for addressing the 1S-2S transition. We also discuss prospects for cooling samples of deuterium and tritium through the recently discovered technique of single-photon cooling.

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Authors

  • Rob Clark

    Department of Physics and Center for Nonlinear Dynamics, The University of Texas at Austin, Department of Physics and Center for Nonlinear Dynamics, University of Texas at Austin

  • Travis Bannerman

    Department of Physics and Center for Nonlinear Dynamics, The University of Texas at Austin, Department of Physics and Center for Nonlinear Dynamics, University of Texas at Austin

  • Isaac Chavez

    Department of Physics and Center for Nonlinear Dynamics, The University of Texas at Austin, Department of Physics and Center for Nonlinear Dynamics, University of Texas at Austin

  • Adam Libson

    Department of Physics and Center for Nonlinear Dynamics, The University of Texas at Austin, Department of Physics and Center for Nonlinear Dynamics, University of Texas at Austin

  • Tom Mazur

    Department of Physics and Center for Nonlinear Dynamics, The University of Texas at Austin, Department of Physics and Center for Nonlinear Dynamics, University of Texas at Austin

  • Mark Raizen

    Department of Physics and Center for Nonlinear Dynamics, The University of Texas at Austin, Department of Physics and Center for Nonlinear Dynamics, University of Texas at Austin