Abstract
We experimentally demonstrate cooling of trapped ions by collisions with cotrapped, higher-mass neutral atoms. It is shown that the lighter ions, created by ionizing atoms in a magneto-optical trap (MOT), when trapped in an ion trap and subsequently allowed to cool by collisions with ultracold, heavier atoms in a MOT, exhibit a longer trap lifetime than without the localized MOT atoms. A similar cooling of trapped ions by ultracold atoms in a MOT is also demonstrated in a different experimental configuration to validate this mechanism of ion cooling by localized and centered ultracold neutral atoms. Our results suggest that the cooling of ions by localized cold atoms holds for any mass ratio, thereby enabling studies on a wider class of atom-ion systems irrespective of their masses.
- Received 6 June 2016
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.113401
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