Self-sustained oscillations in a Large Magneto-Optical Trap
Abstract
We have observed self-sustained radial oscillations in a large magneto-optical trap (MOT), containing up to 1010 Rb85 atoms. This instability is due to the competition between the confining force of the MOT and the repulsive interaction associated with multiple scattering of light inside the cold atomic cloud. A simple analytical model allows us to formulate a criterion for the instability threshold, in fair agreement with our observations. This criterion shows that large numbers of trapped atoms N>109 are required to observe this unstable behavior.
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