Light Traps Using Spontaneous Forces

Abstract

We show that the optical Earnshaw theorem does not always apply to atoms and that it is possible to confine atoms by spontaneous light forces produced by static laser beams. A necessary condition for such traps is that the atomic transition rate cannot depend only on the light intensity. We give several general approaches by which this condition can be met and present a number of specific trap designs illustrating these approaches. These traps have depths on the order of a kelvin and volumes of several cubic centimeters.