Efficient loading and cooling in a dynamic optical evanescent-wave microtrap

Abstract

We calculate the loading efficiency and cooling rates in a bichromatic optical microtrap, where the optical potentials are generated by evanescent waves of cavity fields at a dielectric-vacuum interface. The cavity modified nonconservative dynamic light forces lead to efficient loading of the atoms as well as cooling without the need for spontaneous emission. Steady-state temperatures well below the trap depth, reaching the motional quantum regime, yield very long capturing times for a neutral atom.