Abstract

We have measured temperatures of rubidium atoms confined in a magneto-optical trap.¹ The measurements use the time-of-flight (TOF) technique² in which the trap is turned off, allowing the atoms to travel ballistically. The distribution of arrival times at a well-defined probe location yields the velocity distribution and therefore the temperature. The probe is a resonant laser beam that causes the atoms to fluoresce as they pass through. As in other TOF measurements with cold atoms,^2,3 gravity is a dominant effect. Typical drop distances are 1 cm, and typical peak arrival times are 45 ms.

© 1993 Optical Society of America