2001/07/31 by Yann Le Coq, Y. Le Coq, J. H. Thywissen +11 · 4 citations
Chemistry · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Fiber Laser Technologies #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Spectroscopy and Laser Applications #cond-mat #physics.atom-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.87.170403
published as Phys. Rev. Lett 87, 170403 (2001) · 5 pages, 3 figures. V3: as will appear in Phys. Rev. Lett.; RevTeX 4.0
arxiv created 2001/09/07 · openalex publication_date 2001/10/08 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We measure the angular divergence of a quasicontinuous, rf-outcoupled, free-falling atom laser as a function of the outcoupling frequency. The data are compared to a Gaussian-beam model of laser propagation that generalizes the standard formalism of photonic lasers. Our treatment includes diffraction, magnetic lensing, and interaction between the atom laser and the condensate. We find that the dominant source of divergence is the condensate-laser interaction.