Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 203001 (2003) [4 pages]Observation of Collective Friction Forces due to Spatial Self-Organization of Atoms: From Rayleigh to Bragg Scattering
See accompanying Physics Focus We demonstrate that emission-induced self-organization of two-level atoms can effect strong damping of the sample’s center-of-mass motion. When illuminated by far-detuned light, cold cesium atoms assemble into a density grating that efficiently diffracts the incident light into an optical resonator. We observe random phase jumps of π in the emitted light, confirming spontaneous symmetry breaking in the atomic self-organization. The Bragg diffraction results in a collective friction force with center-of-mass deceleration up to 1000 m/s2 that is effective even for an open atomic transition. © 2003 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.91.203001
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.91.203001
PACS:
32.80.Lg, 32.80.Pj
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