Laser cooling of atom-radiation interaction through optical Bloch equations

• Grant number: 05/01576-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2005
• End date: July 31, 2006
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Atomic and Molecular Physics
• Principal Investigator: Flavio Caldas da Cruz
• Grantee: Daniel Mendonça Valente
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin (IFGW). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

We propose a study of the interaction between atoms and radiation fields, applied to experiments of laser cooling and trapping of alkaline-earth atoms. An introductory study of quantum mechanics will be carried out, up to the point of introducing the density operator and its time evolution by the Liouville equation. Specific goals include the development of computer programs which solve the so-called optical Bloch equations for two and three level systems, using the software Mathematica.