Atom funnel for the production of a slow, high-density atomic beam

Abstract

A new scheme has been developed that produces a slow atomic beam of high brightness with a narrow velocity distribution. The technique can provide long measurement times and high counting rates for future precision experiments. In our initial work, densities of ${10}^{8}$ Na atoms/${\mathrm{cm}}^{3}$ at a velocity of 270 cm/sec and at a temperature of \ensuremath{\sim}200 \ensuremath{\mu}K were obtained.