Atom Trapping and Manipulation by Radiation Pressure Forces

The following sections are included:

• Early Concepts and Experiments with Atoms

  • Deflection of atoms by the scattering force

  • Doppler cooling of atoms using the scattering force and fluctuational heating of atoms

  • Damping of macroscopic particles

  • Saturation of the gradient force on atoms

  • Optimum potential p for a given laser power

  • Conservative and nonconservative properties of the radiation pressure force components

  • Two-beam optical dipole traps for atoms

  • Single-beam optical dipole trap, or tweezer trap, for atoms

  • Separate trapping and cooling beams and the Stark shift problem

  • First demonstration of the dipole force on atoms using detuned light

  • Origin of atom optics

• Theoretical Aspects of Optical Forces on Atoms

  • Quantum theory of “The motion of atoms in a radiation trap”

  • Optical Stark shifts and dipole force traps for atoms

  • Optical dipole forces

  • Conservation of momentum in light scattering by atoms and sub-micrometer particles