A Rubidium Atom Magneto-Optic Trap for Experimental Characterization of EIT - Shannon Mayer

Laser cooling and magneto-optic trapping of neutral atoms is a relatively simple but effective tool for producing high-density (10^10 atoms/cm^3), low-temperature (< 20 microK) atomic samples. Trapped samples have been used for experiments in optical spectroscopy, microwave spectroscopy, and cold-atom collisions, and as a starting point for atom interferometry and Bose-Einstein condensation. In this talk I will briefly discuss the theory behind cooling and trapping of neutral atoms and describe the experimental apparatus for a magneto-optic trap constructed by undergraduate physics students at the University of Portland. Avenues for investigation and characterization of electromagnetically-induced transparency in laser cooled atomic rubidium will also be discussed.