Laser control of atoms and molecules

Rather different problems can be lumped together under the general term 'laser control of atoms and molecules'. They include the laser selection of atomic and molecular velocities for the purpose of Doppler-free spectroscopy, laser control of the position and velocity of atoms (i.e. laser trapping and cooling of atoms), and laser control of atomic and molecular processes (ionization, dissociation) with a view of detecting single atoms and molecules and particularly separating isotopes and nuclear isomers. Over the last decades the principal problems posed have been successfully solved, and many of them have evolved remarkably in the subsequent investigations of the international research community. For example, the solution of the problem of laser cooling and trapping of atoms has given birth to the new field of the physics of ultracold matter, i.e. quantum atomic and molecular gases. The laser non-coherent control of uni-molecular processes has found an interesting extension in the field of laser coherent control of molecules. The concept of laser control of position has been successfully demonstrated with microparticles (optical tweezers), concurrently with investigations into atomic control. The laser photo-ionization of molecules on surfaces has led to the development of novel techniques of laser-assisted mass spectrometry of macromolecules, and so on. The aim of this book is to review these topics from a unified or 'coherent' point of view. It will be useful for many readers in various fields of laser science and its applications.

Author Notes

Vladilen Letokhov is Head of the Laser Spectroscopy Department at the Russian Academy of Sciences

1 Introduction	p. 1
1.1 Ways to control the emission of light	p. 1
1.2 From the control of light to the control of atoms and molecules	p. 7
1.3 On the aims of this book	p. 10
2 Elementary radiative processes	p. 12
2.1 Spontaneous emission	p. 12
2.2 Stimulated absorption and emission	p. 15
2.3 Recoil effect and Doppler effect	p. 18
2.4 Resonant excitation of a two-level system free from relaxation	p. 22
2.5 Resonant excitation of a two-level system with relaxations	p. 26
2.6 Radiation-scattering processes	p. 33
3 Laser velocity-selective excitation	p. 35
3.1 Doppler broadening of optical spectral lines	p. 35
3.2 Homogeneous broadening mechanisms	p. 38
3.3 Doppler-free saturation spectroscopy	p. 40
3.4 Ultrahigh spectral resolution	p. 49
4 Optical orientation of atoms and nuclei	p. 54
4.1 Optical orientation of atoms	p. 54
4.2 Radio-frequency spectroscopy of optically oriented atoms	p. 58
4.3 Spin-exchange optical pumping	p. 61
4.4 Coherent effects and optically oriented atoms	p. 62
4.5 Applications of optically pumped atoms	p. 64
5 Laser cooling of atoms	p. 68
5.1 Introduction. History of ideas	p. 69
5.2 Laser radiation force on a two-level atom	p. 72
5.3 Quantum fluctuation effects. Temperature limits of laser cooling	p. 76
5.4 Doppler cooling	p. 77
5.5 Laser polarization gradient cooling below the Doppler limit	p. 83
5.6 Cooling below the recoil limit	p. 87
6 Laser trapping of atoms	p. 92
6.1 Optical trapping	p. 92
6.2 Magnetic trapping	p. 100
6.3 Magnetooptical trapping	p. 103
6.4 Gravitooptical and near-field traps	p. 106
6.5 Optical trapping of cold atoms-new tools for atomic physics	p. 109
7 Atom optics	p. 113
7.1 Introduction. Matter waves	p. 113
7.2 Reflection of atoms by light	p. 114
7.3 Laser focusing of an atomic beam	p. 120
7.4 Diffraction of atoms	p. 127
7.5 Atom interferometry	p. 130
7.6 Atomic holography	p. 135
7.7 Towards atom nanooptics	p. 135
8 From laser-cooled and trapped atoms to atomic and molecular quantum gases	p. 138
8.1 Introduction	p. 139
8.2 Bose-Einstein condensation of atomic gases	p. 141
8.3 Fermi-degenerate quantum atomic gases	p. 148
8.4 Formation of ultracold molecules	p. 150
8.5 Molecular quantum gases	p. 155
9 Laser photoselective ionization of atoms	p. 158
9.1 Introduction	p. 158
9.2 Resonance excitation and ionization of atoms	p. 159
9.3 Photoionization detection of rare atoms and radioactive isotopes	p. 168
9.4 Laser photoionization separation of isotopes, isobars, and nuclear isomers	p. 175
10 Multiphoton ionization of molecules	p. 182
10.1 Photoselective resonance ionization of molecules	p. 183
10.2 Resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) of molecules	p. 185
10.3 Laser desorption/ionization of biomolecules	p. 189
11 Photoselective laser control of molecules via molecular vibrations	p. 198
11.1 Vibrationally mediated photodissociation of molecules via excited electronic states	p. 199
11.2 Basics of IR multiple-photon excitation/dissociation of polyatomic molecules in the ground state	p. 201
11.3 Characteristics of the IR MPE/D of polyatomic molecules	p. 208
11.4 Intermolecular selectivity of IR MPE/D for laser isotope separation	p. 218
11.5 Prospects for mode-selective MPE/D by IR femtosecond pulses	p. 221
12 Coherent laser control of molecules	p. 224
12.1 Introduction to coherent optimal control	p. 225
12.2 Coherent control using wave packets	p. 226
12.3 Coherent control using quantum interference	p. 229
12.4 Optimal feedback control	p. 230
12.5 Coherent optimal control by tailored strong-field laser pulses	p. 232
12.6 Coherent control of large molecules in liquids	p. 234
12.7 Perspectives	p. 235
13 Related topics: laser control of microparticles and free electrons	p. 238
13.1 Laser trapping of microparticles	p. 238
13.2 Laser control of free-electron motion	p. 244
14 Concluding comments	p. 251
References	p. 273
Index	p. 303

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