Laser cooling and trapping of Ne metastable atoms

Abstract

A neon atomic beam in the metastable state 1${s}_{5}$ has been decelerated and trapped by the spontaneous light force of a resonant laser in a quadrupole magnetic field. Trapping has been achieved on all isotopes $^{20}\mathrm{Ne}$, $^{21}\mathrm{Ne}$, and $^{22}\mathrm{Ne}$ using a sample with natural abundance. For $^{20}\mathrm{Ne}$, approximately 4\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{7}$ atoms are trapped.