An Atom Laser Based on Raman Transitions
Abstract
In this paper we present an atom laser scheme using a Raman transition for the output coupling of atoms. A beam of thermal atoms (bosons) in a metastable atomic state
|1>
are pumped into a multimode atomic cavity. This cavity is coupled through spontaneous emission to a single mode of another cavity for the ground atomic state,
|2>
. Above a certain threshold pumping rate a large number of atoms,
N
2
, builds up in this single quantum state and transitions to the ground state of the cavity become enhanced by a factor
(
N
2
+1)
. Atoms in this state are then coupled to the outside of the cavity with a Raman transition. This changes the internal state of the atom and imparts a momentum kick, allowing the atoms to leave the system.