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New friction force due to spontaneous light pressure

  • Atoms, Spectra and Radiation
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Abstract

We have discovered a new friction force, acting on an atom in the field of two oppositely propagating elliptically polarized waves of low intensity. In contrast to the well-known friction forces, the new force does not vanish at zero detuning of the field from resonance, and the direction of the kinetic process (heating or cooling) is determined by the relative orientation and the ellipticity of the polarization vectors of the oppositely propagating waves.

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Pis’ma Zh. Éksp. Teor. Fiz. 70, No. 7, 439–444 (10 October 1999)

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Prudnikov, O.N., Taichenachev, A.V., Tumaikin, A.M. et al. New friction force due to spontaneous light pressure. Jetp Lett. 70, 443–449 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1134/1.568194

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/1.568194

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