Continuous slowing of a gadolinium atomic beam

The article presents the development of a new and innovative experimental method to fully characterize a solenoidal ''spin-flip" Zeeman slower (ZS) using a Quartz Crystal μ-balance (QCM) as a kinetic energy sensor. In this experiment, we focus a 447.1 nm laser into a counter-propagating beam of gadolinium (Gd) atoms in order to drive the dipole transition between ground ⁹D⁰₂ state and ⁹D₃ excited state. The changes in the velocity of the beam were measured using a QCM during this process, as a novel and alternative method to characterize the efficiency of a 1 m-long spin-flip Zeeman slower. The QCM, normally used in solid-state physics, is continuously and carefully monitored to determine the change in its natural frequency of oscillation. These changes reveal a direct relation with changes in the deposition rate and the momentum exchanged between the QCM and Gd atoms. Hence, in terms of ultracold atom physics, it might be used to study the time-evolution of the velocity distribution of the atoms during the cooling process. By this method, we obtain a maximum atom average velocity reduction of (43.5 ± 6.4)% produced by our apparatus. Moreover, we estimate an experimental lifetime of τ_e= 8.2 ns for the used electronic transition, and then we compared it with the reported lifetime for 443.06 nm and 451.96 nm electronic transitions of Gd. These results confirm that the QCM offers an accessible and simple solution to take into account for laser cooling experiments. Therefore, a novel and innovative technique can be available for future experiments.