A continuous cold rubidium atomic beam with enhanced flux and tunable velocity

Abstract: We present a cold atomic beam source based on a two-dimensional (2D)+ magneto-optical trap (MOT), capable of generating a continuous cold beam of 87Rb atoms with a flux up to 4.3*10^9 atoms/s, a mean velocity of 10.96(2.20) m/s, and a transverse temperature of 16.90(1.56) uK. Investigating the influence of high cooling laser intensity, we observe a significant population loss of atoms to hyperfine-level dark states. To account for this, we employ a multiple hyperfine level model to calculate the cooling efficiency associated with the population in dark states, subsequently modifying the scattering force. Simulations of beam flux at different cooling and repumping laser intensities using the modified scattering force are in agreement with experimental results. Optimizing repumping and cooling intensities enhances the flux by 50%. The influence of phase modulation on both the pushing and cooling lasers is experimentally studied, revealing that the mean velocity of cold atoms can be tuned from 9.5 m/s to 14.6 m/s with a phase-modulated pushing laser. The versatility of this continuous beam source, featuring high flux, controlled velocity, and narrow transverse temperature, renders it valuable for applications in atom interferometers and clocks, ultimately enhancing bandwidth, sensitivity, and signal contrast in these devices.