A robust and modular cesium magneto-optical trap using divergent laser beams
Abstract
Magneto-optical traps (MOTs) are a workhorse technology for neutral-atom quantum sensing, simulation, and computing. Here, we demonstrate a MOT optimized for inertial quantum sensing and precision metrology applications. Our MOT traps 4×108 cesium (Cs) atoms in a robust, modular system that achieves stable operation through two design features: (1) we use divergent cooling laser beams to reduce unwanted reflections and (2) optical elements are mounted in a fiber-coupled, compact, and modular cage rigidly attached to the vacuum chamber. Following polarization-gradient cooling (PGC), the system produces atom samples with temperatures below 10 μK, similar to those achieved in conventional MOTs that use collimated laser beams. In addition, we observe trapping of 2×107 Cs atoms in a non-conventional MOT geometry, where the cooling laser beams are diagonal to the principal axis of the quadrupole magnetic field.
Versions
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BibTeX
@misc{luna2026robust,
title = {{A robust and modular cesium magneto-optical trap using divergent laser beams}},
author = {Paola Luna and Kenneth Nakasone and Andrei Zhukov and Philip Wondrak and Brian P. Anderson and Benjamin F. Kanzer and Cristian D. Panda},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2607.13145},
eprint = {2607.13145},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.13145},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - A robust and modular cesium magneto-optical trap using divergent laser beams
AU - Paola Luna
AU - Kenneth Nakasone
AU - Andrei Zhukov
AU - Philip Wondrak
AU - Brian P. Anderson
AU - Benjamin F. Kanzer
AU - Cristian D. Panda
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/17
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2607.13145
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.13145
AB - Magneto-optical traps (MOTs) are a workhorse technology for neutral-atom quantum sensing, simulation, and computing. Here, we demonstrate a MOT optimized for inertial quantum sensing and precision metrology applications. Our MOT traps 4×10^8 cesium (Cs) atoms in a robust, modular system that achieves stable operation through two design features: (1) we use divergent cooling laser beams to reduce unwanted reflections and (2) optical elements are mounted in a fiber-coupled, compact, and modular cage rigidly attached to the vacuum chamber. Following polarization-gradient cooling (PGC), the system produces atom samples with temperatures below 10 μK, similar to those achieved in conventional MOTs that use collimated laser beams. In addition, we observe trapping of 2×10^7 Cs atoms in a non-conventional MOT geometry, where the cooling laser beams are diagonal to the principal axis of the quadrupole magnetic field.
ER -