Laser-induced cooling of broadband heat reservoirs

Abstract: We explore, theoretically and experimentally, a method for cooling a broadband heat reservoir, via its laser-assisted collisions with two-level atoms followed by their fluorescence. This method is shown to be advantageous compared to existing laser-cooling methods in terms of its cooling efficiency, the lowest attainable temperature for broadband baths and its versatility: it can cool down any heat reservoir, provided the laser is red-detuned from the atomic resonance. It is applicable to cooling down both dense gaseous and condensed media.