Slowing dynamics of a supersonic beam, simulation and experiments

¹ Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers, Universite Paris 13, av. J.B. Clément, 93430 Villetaneuse, France
² Institute Mines-Telecom, Telecom Sud-Paris, Department Electronics and Physics, 9 rue Charles Fourier, 91011 Evry Cedex, France
³ PAP, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 637371 Singapore

^a e-mail: jacques.baudon@univ-paris13.fr

Received: 20 May 2015
Revised: 8 July 2015
Accepted: 9 July 2015
Published online: 14 August 2015

Abstract

In this paper we present numerical and experimental methods aimed to study the evolution in space and time of a slowed supersonic beam. These generic methods are applicable to a variety of beams and decelerating techniques. The present implemented experimental set up is based upon Zeeman slowing of a metastable atom beam. The detection uses a channel-electron multiplier and a delay-line detector allowing time-of-flight analysis and numerical image reconstruction. In particular a depopulation effect at the centre of the beam is evidenced. In view of quantifying the slowing process, Monte Carlo calculations based on rate-equations are detailed.