Two-dimensional Sisyphus cooling

Abstract

We present theoretical descriptions of Sisyphus cooling in a two-dimensional laser configuration, based on semiclassical as well as quantum approaches. A detailed comparison of these various approaches and a discussion of their range of validity are given. Features of the cooled atomic distribution such as channeling of the atoms along specific lines in momentum space and the observability of tunneling induced resonances in the population of the ground state of the atomic motion in the optical potential wells are discussed.