Inelastic cold collisions of a Na/Rb mixture in a magneto-optical trap

Abstract

We report results on inelastic cold collisions for a mixed species magneto-optical trap containing Na and Rb. The rate of collisional trap loss of Na is due to different contributions: Na-Na and Na-Rb collisions. Both parts are investigated with respect to trap laser intensity and frequency. The observations are explained based on a Gallagher-Pritchard model. Possibilities for studies and applications involving mixed species traps are discussed.